Research

Alternative, specifically gothic, people being the target audience of Stages of Decay, the package design needed to be eye-catching, as most alternative makeup designs reject the simplicity of the more mainstream packaging and involve visually striking and complex imagery.

In addition, the gothic subculture is grounded in finding beauty in the morbid and disturbing, as well as connecting with the themes and facts of death– an attachment that is often the focal point of their targeted products. Marketing for alternative products frequently involves a dark color scheme (if not black and white and pardon vibrant reds), a gothic literature reference, and/or some kind of Halloween-esque imagery– often including blood and witches.