Strategy to Shelf
A Shaving Experience Designed for Every Body
/Shaveology.: Intro
Shaveology
Experiencing an epiphany based on abundant consumer insights and his wife’s shaving habits, Shaveology’s owner decided that the brand and razor needed to be reimagined. The company pivoted from a traditional cartridge razor for men to a gender-neutral brand focused on creating a custom shaving experience based on skin and hair types. Simultaneously, they needed to incorporate sustainable and commercially viable materials focused on their products and packaging.
/Shaveology: The Challenge
Rethinking the Razor
Shaveology decided to scrap their old approach to shaving and retool the brand as a nonbinary product company with a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship. Through extensive research, a few key consumer insights emerged. The data demonstrated a demand for a razor with a clean, universal design that delivers a premium experience at a commodity price point. In collaboration with Shaveology, the Sprout team was tasked with developing a gender-neutral shaving experience, packaged in sustainable materials.
/Shaveology: The Approach
Inclusive, Accessible, and Sustainable: Hair Goes Nothing
Given the open-minded nature of Shaveology’s team, our process included extensive discussions with their executives, consumer insights professionals, and our design team. With a project of this magnitude, collaboration between all design disciplines was critical to keeping each step in the process moving forward simultaneously.
Product Design
Our industrial design team infused the primary physical brand vehicle, the razor handle, with a clear sense of the brand’s attributes by using a clean, modern VBL with distinct and memorable characteristics. The results were a full-featured product family, including razor handle, cartridges tray, single cartridge cover, and a rigid travel case.The handle design included soft forms, ergonomic cartridge ejection button, and molded-in owl for detail-shaving grip.
Identity System
Sprout focused on creating a brand look and feel that is sophisticated, yet approachable and head-turning, yet never boastful. The approach needed to be purposeful, minimal and inspiring. After multiple iterations, Shaveology selected an owl as the primary mark. We created a small, simple logo for easy reproduction and manufacturing. A symbol of wisdom, the owl communicates a sense of knowledge and experience. Hand-drawn elements in the photography highlight focus and add human interaction. The resulting brand evokes the pleasant feeling behind clean, healthy, and happy skin.
Packaging Design
We used a holistic approach to develop the packaging system. Given the wide variety of materials to be packaged, the brand look had to apply effectively on everything from cartons, inverted tubes, and pump bottles. The result is a dynamic and flexible system with cohesive placement for brand recognition and instant readability. With sustainability a central part of the company mission, we sourced packaging materials with post-consumer recycled content.
Brand Positioning
The Shaveology brand is always inclusive and eco-friendly, yet remains accessible to all. Positioning shaving as fun is no small trick, and breaks the norm of product positioning in the razor category. Our visual design team developed brand guides to ensure Shaveology maintains its playful, witty energy in all product messaging and packaging.
/Shaveology: The Outcome
A Razor That Raises the Standards
Sprout delivered a holistic product offering that is both inclusive and accessible. Shaveology’s non-binary design and clean aesthetic are emblematic of the brand attitude. A custom shaving experience based on skin and hair types— and not gender — positions Shaveology to appeal to a broader customer base beyond their previous demographic.
