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Redefining the way feminine sexual health, hygiene, and OTC pharmeceutical products are packaged, sold, and marketed

MORGAN STERNS morgan-sterns.com/stripped GR 801 student ID #02851767 mjsterns@gmail.com (949) 294 9009

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REBECCA 21 “I am a young woman and I buy condoms. Do you have any idea the looks I get while trying to be responsible?

It is incredibly foolish that the condom manufacturers haven’t figured out that a lot of my girl friends also reluctantly buy condoms and experience the same reaction. Many of my male friends feel the same way.”

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ELIZABETH 29 “I Can’t believe that there are five different companies selling vaginal ointments and not one of them understands that the reason I hide all their products under other products in my shopping cart is because I don’t want people to know what I am buying.”

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NANCY 38 “When I took the survey I said that I wasn’t embarrassed buying feminine hygiene products. Well, after some thought, I have to confess that I do not like buying certain items such as douche and vaginal creams and a few others. Also at 38 years of age, I had to buy a pregnancy test and I did not want anyone to know about it, including my husband and children.”

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ELEANOR 72 “It is tough spending your life running a successful business and home life and then finding yourself incontinent. I have never had to depend on anyone my entire life but now am forced to use various incontinent products. My kids do not like buying them for me (I don’t blame them).�

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—Planned Parenthood, 2011

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of the retail drug store does not provide the best environment to shop for feminine sexual health, hygiene, and otc pharmeceutical items with dignity or comfort.”

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“the public nature

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020 022 024 026 028 030 032 034 036 038

Thesis Overview Starting the Conversation Minimalism in Maximalist Markets OGST Diagram Materials Matrix Timeline Three Habits Possible Futures Resources Biography

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today there is an unspoken need for confidentiality and better design within the sexual health and hygiene consumer goods industry.

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/topic summary/

OBJECTIVE Redefine the way feminine sexual health, hygiene, and OTC pharmeceutical products are packaged, sold, and marketed in order to eliminate embarrassment and fear during the retail experience.

THE PROBLEM Brands are spending millions of dollars on design campaigns but they still haven’t addressed the issue of female embarrassment when it comes to the marketing and packaging design of feminine sexual health and hygiene products. Today’s female consumers are seeking brands that are more concerned about their personal feelings versus displaying the product name and picture all over the packaging just for advertising purposes. Consumer life is very saturated with visual noise. There are so many choices and unclear messages that don’t make making those decisions easy. In a cluttered world, brands need to simplify in order to be seen.

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WHY? If I don’t redefine the way personal care products are marketed, packaged, and sold, then female consumers will not be able to purchase these items with privacy, dignity, and the respect they deserve and want. Within the sexual health and hygiene industry there is a need for better design.

MY PROPOSAL I want to develop a brand that offers women confidentiallity while decreasing trepidation and discomfort when purchasing these items in a public retail atmosphere. I will utilize social media to encourage women to change the conversation surrounding feminine care from one of shame and embarrassment to one of open, honest dialogue.

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/the beginning of an online community/

PINTEREST BOARDS Pinterest is a social media tool that I’m leveraging in order to create an online community of women and gain insights on package design of consumer goods they find appealing. This social media platform has enabled me to connect my target audience through the ‘things’ they find visually interesting and appealing. Through group discussions and online forums I have begun to create visual mood boards of packaging inspiration that my online community can share with other women and I in return gain vital feedback on what women are looking for in packaging.

RESEARCH FINDINGS Although these viual mood boards and their online following are in their infancy, I have already begun to collect some vital data about packaging aesthetics from women ages 18-35. Trends are showing that many female consumers gravitate towards packaing that demonstrates simplicity, clarity, informality, and innovation.

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/a less is more approach to branding/

COGNITIVE BRANDING The current consumer good’s industry has become a maximalist culture where we live under the misconception that who ever shouts the loudest wins.

My thesis is pushing the idea of stripped-back minimalism in order to create disturbance in today’s over saturated marketplace. Cognitive branding states that people prefer things that are easy to think about and today’s female consumers are seeking honest, authentic, and clear brands amongst all the visual noise.

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/objectives, goals, strategies, tactics/

OBJECTIVE Create a brand that redefine the way feminine sexual health, hygiene, and OTC pharmeceutical products are packaged, marketed, and sold.

GOALS 1

2

3

packaged

marketed

sold

Develop packaging that offers women confidentiallity while decreasing fear & discomfort

Utilize social media to create a community that encourages women to change the conversation surrounding feminine care from one of shame & embarrassment to one of open & honest dialogue

Change the dynamic of how these items are sold in a public arena

STRATEGIES 1

2

3

packaged

marketed

sold

Shift package design to a stripped-down minimalistic and uncomplicated approach, offering women more discreet, authentic, & clean/clear purchasing options

Utilization of Pinterest, Instagram photo sharing, blogs, and forums to create a community of real women and real conversations surrounding feminine care

Utilizing QR code technology in a space where it has never existed to eliminate packaging “noise� while offering confidentiallty during the retail experience

TACTICS 1

2

3

product packaging SKUs

branding manual identity system

social media campaign community forum

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/thesis components/

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THE BRAND The bread and butter of my thesis that will exist online and in print

2

BRAND IDENTITY Consisting of a developed brand manual/guidebook and extensive identity system

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3

4

PACKAGING

SOCIAL MEDIA

Containing all sexual health and hygiene consumer goods SKUs underneath the brand with QR code technology

Consisting of online blogs and forums where real women are creating the content. Pinterest boards containing feedback from consumers and the utilization of hashtags/likes to drive brand directions

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/coursework & deliverables/

1

2

Fall 2012_Goals

Spring 2013_Goals

.. .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Thesis objective refinement Group discussions Define project’s overall aesthetics Identify project’s target audience Identify skills that will be required for designing (directed study that will help to acquire these skills)

Continue intensive research Conduct interviews, administer surveys Establish list of possible contacts/collaborators Refine project aesthetics Brand development (logo, brand look/feel) Begin initial package design

Fall 2012_Deliverables

Spring 2013_Deliverables

.. .. .. ..

.. .. .. ..

Journal Project summary and clear focus Refined master timeline List of deliverables

Journal Research findings Logo development Branding guidelines/assets

Fall 2012_Coursework/Internship

Spring 2013_Coursework

.. GR 801_Thesis Development .. GR 800_Directed Study Package Design 2 .. Internship at Attik

.. GR 800_Directed Study .. GR 800_Directed Study .. XX Elective

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3

4

Summer 2013_Goals

Fall 2013_Goals

.. .. .. .. .. ..

.. Finalize products. Start production stage .. Start designing thesis press release kits and continue to promote the project .. Finalize web assets .. Marketing collateral

Continue intensive research Refine project aesthetics Brand development (logo, brand look/feel) Package design refinements UI design research Development of web presence

Summer 2013_Deliverables

Fall 2013_Deliverables

.. .. .. ..

.. .. .. ..

Journal Research findings Logo, branding/Identity guidelines Package design prototypes

Journal Products Branding guidelines and Identity Manual Web assets

Summer 2013_Coursework/Internship

Fall 2013_Coursework/Internship

.. GR 800_Directed Study .. GS 000_

.. GR 650_Portfolio .. GS 604_Professional Practices

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/from 100 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers/

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COLLABORATE WITH SOMEONE IN A DIFFERENT FIELD Social by nature, I thrive on human interaction and the collaborative process between people of different talents and trades. I believe that the best projects are the ones that are produced from collaboration across many platforms and I intend to use my abilities to collaborate with people from the design, healthcare, and marketing/business arena.

2

LOOK AT THE EVERYDAY WORLD FOR INSPIRATION Life is very saturated with visual noise and in a cluttered world, brands need to simplify in order to be seen. I believe that nature provides us with visual examples where the greatest beauty is found in the simplest of things. This can be translated into quality design that is unfettered, honest, clear, innovative, timeless, and functional.

3

FIND AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WITH YOUR AUDIENCE Word of mouth relies on open and honest conversations between people. For product categories such as feminine care, social taboo stymies these conversations. Brands like Kotex and Tampax found thereselves in this situation.

After years of ads full of euphemisms, their audience had tuned out. Both companies have now introduced a new line of feminine care by leading with the girls’ voices, not the company’s. The brand I create will strive to generate honest conversations free of the brand voice. I plan to create forums online and the community will create the content, not a room full of writers.

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/life post grad school/ 1

SCENARIO ONE When I leave the Academy I would like to move abroad to work for a specialized brand development and positioning agency providing creative solutions for various types of projects. Ideally I would like to find a perfect balance between a design boutique—focusing on the development of creative pieces paying attention to the smallest of details—and a business consultancy providing solutions based on the analysis of tangible data to generate best fit applications. I also want to work for a design firm that integrates multidisciplinary teams of creative and business experts.

POSSIBLE STUDIOS 25ah _Stockholm, Sweden (w) 25ah.se Maud_Sydney, Australia (w) maud.com.au band_Adelaide, Australia (w) studioband.com.au

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2

3

SCENARIO TWO

SCENARIO THREE

When I leave the Academy I would like to stay in San Francisco and work for a design firm specializing in creative branding and identity-brand strategy, visual identities, packaging, advertising, digital experiences, and environments. I believe my current thesis will highlight my abilities to give brands a voice and it will be an integral component to my portfolio.

When I leave the Academy I would like to be an in-house graphic designer for a brand that involves either surf, skate, snow, art, music, or culture. I am interested in action sports apparel companies that are collaborative design-driven lifestyle brands such as Quicksilver, RVCA, Stussy, or Nixon.

POSSIBLE STUDIOS

POSSIBLE BRANDS

Office_visitoffice.com Butchershop_butchershopcreative.com Moving Brands_movingbrands.com

Burton, RVCA, Insight, Vans, Patagonia, Northface

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/references/

BOOKS .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Logo Design Love by David Airey Brand Bible by Debbie Millman Logotype by Michael Evamy 1000 Package Designs by Grip Design, Chicago Experimental Formats & Packaging by Roger Fawcett-Tang and Daniel Mason Package Design Workbook by Steven DuPuis and John Silva Unique Packaging by Marta Serrats

MAGAZINES .. .. .. .. .. ..

Computer Arts Collection:Branding Edition Computer Arts Collection:Typography Edition Brand Packaging CMYK Print Eye

WEBSITES .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Lovelypackage.com Thedieline.com Packagingoftheworld.com Forbes.com/forbeswoman PlannedParenthood.org Kimberly-clark.com Summerseve.com Ubykotex.com Jezebel.com Packworld.com Designmadeingermany.de Good.is

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/about Morgan/

MY DESIGN MOTTO: It doesn’t matter how many talents I claim to posses or how many achievements I think i’ve had because at the end of the day it’s about embracing mistakes and accepting failures in order to grow as a designer. I’ve always believed that how you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top, or in my design experience, it’s not about the finished product but rather learning from the creative process of how you got there. It’s taken me 10 years but I’ve come to realize that all my past frustrations in life and in my design career were actually laying the foundation for the understandings I now possess…

I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Communications from the California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo and I am now attending the Academy of Art University where I am currently in the process of receiving my MFA in Graphic Design.

Social by nature, I thrive on human interaction and the collaborative process between people of different talents and trades.

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Morgan Sterns ID no. 02851767 mjsterns@gmail.com (949) 294 9009 morgan-sterns.com morgan-sterns.com/Stripped Instructor: Phil Hamlett This book was created for Thesis Development at the Academy of Art University