sensus

Brand photography two female models beauty and skincare in embrace looking at the camera
PLANT-BASED SKINCARE
challenging perceptions

sensus is a new, Korean-born brand for Europe. Committed to challenging preconceived ideas and distorted perceptions, with a roadmap of product launches through multiple industries worldwide.

Their first product, sensus Skincare, offers a clean, plant-powered, pre-ageing skin care routine that reduces waste, removes toxic stereotypes, and promotes self-care for a healthier outlook on life.

Detail

Brief

Build a brand that can live above its first product whilst allowing for further product launches. 

Soft launch a lean,  DTC skincare product to western markets to get investment.

Overcome traditional thinking in the beauty industry, particularly in plant-based skincare, pre-ageing products, a typical 12-step Korean skincare regime and binary norms in beauty.

Build awareness and hype around a tribe that encourages feedback loops and conversations.

Create a seamless e-comms experience with a bridge to physical retail.

Solution

Position and build a proposition for the brand. With long- term vision, but with short-term capabilities for quick turnaround and lean product launches.

Work with the client to build a messaging framework. With the intention to hype and excite, as well as educate and build understanding around the brand.

Build an identity that speaks directly to the consumer, taps into the current penchant for Korean skincare and embodies the brand values.

Build high volumes of content for use across multiple touchpoints and in a variety of ways, with consistency across channels.

E-comms means digital, so effective motion and sound branding are key. We control our environment, so let’s own it. 

Ulltimately, this job was not completed with full client interaction. Towards the end, the client backed out due to the pandemic, but we pushed on with the idea because we believed in it so much.

Services

Strategy:
  1. Audience & Landscape
  2. Persona development
  3. insights & Positioning
  4. naming
Identity:
  1. Voice & Messaging
  2. Visual Identity
  3. Motion identity
  4. Sonic identity
  5. packaging systems
Activation:
  1. brand film
  2. key visuals - static & Motion
  3. social media content

Results

Activation:
  1. Increased engagement of external stakeholders
  2. Raised €250k in funding
  3. 10k+ on the pre-register application for soft launch
  4. maintained steady social growth month on month
Photography of a single femal model staring at the camera showing her teeth and licking her lips with attitude
Visual identity and messaging for Sensus showing a non-gendering message
custom 3d visual for pack design showing the pack in nature with beautiful abstract nature and shapes
Packaging design for the beetroot and mushroom skincare products in 3d key visual with floating glass pack
Photography of male model with vitiligo for visual identity with messaging about self care and anti-ageing skincare
Motion design - Abstract 3d image showing lots of textures and tones of purple demonstrating the power of nature at macro level
3d image showing the bottle pack design for the red world with seaweed key visual
Messaging and copywriting for sensus verbal identity over a 3d world showing sweet potato hidden - plant based is plant power
Brand photography of beauty and skincare - beautiful skinhead female model portrait gently touching her face with attitude wearing dark orange clothes

Brand values and storytelling

Working collaboratively with the client, we meticulously weaved the brand narrative into a sensory representation, translating the key foundational elements that form the backbone of this brand identity.

1. Removing toxic stereotypes around skincare for a non-gendering world

2. Removing the stigma of plant-based being less effective, to plant-powered being highly efficacious

3. Shifting the perception of anti-ageing products being just for old people, to empowered self-care at any age. Prevention over cure.

Beautiful sea inspired Cinema4d 3d key visual for the visual identity showing three packaging design with seaweed and eggplant hidden in the image
Motion design - motion identity branding - cinema4d 3d visual of the skincare products in beautiful 3d world

content powerhouse - distinctive assets

It was important to amplify the sensus vision into a sensory overload of content. Helping them land the most crucial and important aspects of the job. Unlocking impossible ideas and bringing them to life, helping them communicate complex ideas in an elegant and easily digestible way. Creating worlds that go beyond a single image, can be very cost and time- effective in the long run. Free from the principles of photography, we can bend and even break the rules in the content we create.

the 3d worlds and the visual identity showing the design idea and the elements coming together
packaging design with open carton showing the inside of the pack with the abstract 3d macro image of ingredients for skincare

Packaging Design

Whilst the rest of our world is hyper-engaging and emotionally intense, the packaging design needed to serve a different purpose: a more functional one. Education. 

We needed to teach a simplified Korean skincare regime to people who might not realise how to use the products. The pack design needed to reflect this. 

A discovery element was added to the inside of the pack to highlight the potency of the natural ingredients and add that social media ‘shareable’ moment during the product reviews on YouTube and TikTok.

Shelf shot showing skincare products and advertising visuals using the branding visual identity
Double page spread magazine layout showing two structure pack designs with branding messaging framework
Single page magazine layout showing a male model with a snarl - branding and tone of voice messaging beauty skincare
Single page magazine layout showing a male model with a snarl - branding and tone of voice messaging beauty skincare
Double page spread magazine layout showing two structure pack designs with branding messaging framework
Branding model photography advertisment skincare

activation - marketing

Seamlessly integrating the creative idea through clear communications to activate consumers, through stimulation, trial and error, education, and ultimately loyalty. 

Branding motion visual identity shown on three digital content billboards

motion identity - effective motion

In 2023, if you’re not using motion, what are you doing? It’s not enough to ‘just make it move’ anymore. Anyone can make it move. We obsess over the details to translate brand DNA through motion ensuring integrity and stand-out in a world of blah.

More than just throwing motion at everything, we design motion with intent — used here to communicate benefits. It acts as another communication device to build longer- lasting memory structures for the brand experience, and provides a consistent, distinctive style.

The shoot - Produced and completed with the help of 15 team members from 6 countries. inc 6 models, 12 outfits, 3 sets in 2 days.

From the beginning, we all knew it wasn’t enough to challenge perceptions through an outward expression. We also needed to live and breathe it through our partnerships. This extended to the designers, models, make-up artists, photographers, videographers, and more.

photography shoot sensus
photography shoot sensus
photography shoot sensus

We partnered with Knaphouse to produce the shoot in Amsterdam. Knaphouse is Queer Culture consultancy. Providing research & insight on Queer Culture and help brands to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive.

Listening to the powerful voices and creativity of queer people on set led to some amazing insights and strong outcome. They worked tirelessly with us to make this happen and ensure we were representing queer culture and diversity on set.

photography shoot sensus
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