I came across this brand on Instagram and was immediately taken by the way it spoke to me. Being a professor of Brand Design I am always looking for great case studies and this is one of them.

Brand Design is about taking the essence of a brand (its DNA), studying its values and the way it does things (culture) and getting under the skin of the business to create a unique identity and personality. But not just. That’s brand identity. Brand Design, is taking things one step further. Creating a unique portfolio of products and services strongly integrating the codes of the brand identity and implementing them on everything the brand does.Now the best way of doing this is to map out the Customer. The Journey re are many ways of doing this, but here is a simplified version.

A Customer Journey allows you to think of every brand touchpoint the customer will experience and for you, as a designer, to highlight the important ones (we call them the magic moments), the ones you can enhance, and design something unique for. There are also the moments of truth, those difficult moments, that are painful for clients. The long queue to pay, the changing room which is too small for my pushchair, and design something that improves these moments. The example above is highlighting the basis touchpoints, but we can go into much more depth. Here’s how I get students to do it. And that’s why I like this brand, Kaibosh.

Kaibosh, is an opticians store based in Norway. It produces glasses and sunglasses for women, men and children. But the way that Snask designed its identity was truly through a Brand Design approach. It also created a new vocabulary, a new way of speaking to its clients, and at each touchpoint, something to make the client smile.    Let’s  start at the storefront. We already know this brand is playing tricks with our eyes. What is the name of this place? Kaboshi? Kaihbos? No Kaibosh of course!

Then, when we enter the store. We see the store layout. Which let’s the glasses speak for themselves. Now onto the tricky stuff. Choosing a pair! Need an eye test? The brand talks to me in a funny way ‘Feeling Blind?’ You’re in the right place. Don’t be sad.

 Fancy a cup of coffee while we do this?

And as the process carries on of eyeglass selection. We see their great names… 

This pair, for example, is called “A Cat in a Candy Store Remix’.  

As you wander around the store, you may catch other brand communications which form the brand universe. The Brand Universe is a series of iconic elements, the brand speak, the iconic graphics, here we have eyelashes, tears, letters, and other elements which form the brand personality – the way it looks and speaks to me. 

I really like these. 

And when it’s time to get your prescription and pay, here it is. But the customer can help fill in the cover in a playful way.

Don’t let your customer go without a card. Well there are many, so choose the one you want, that fits your personality. And finally, your glasses are cooked to your order. Fresh from the Bakers.  Or have our Weekly Pack. You can insert your glasses by day, based how you feel.

And, if you feel like playing after, they give you a pack of magnetic letter and numbers to remember them by. Always good to remember how the brand made you feel after you have left the store. A job well done! Brand Design at its best.