Why Being Popular Means Everything to Us

At EVERLAND, we define and design consumer goods. Brands with a broad appeal. While making a limited edition can be good marketing, it is easy and, quite frankly, without risks. Try developing a design that needs to last 20 years without losing its edge. Now we’re talking.

We design beer, meatballs, kombucha and batteries. And juice boxes, yoghurt, ice cream, body lotion, and toilet paper. And we love it! We take pride in designing the brands that people literally live and breathe every single day.

When you meddle with people’s favourite brands, you better know what you are doing! You’d be surprised how many positive reactions we had to our recent redesign of Tuborg Squash. So, when we are talking design, we have three simple rules and an overall reminder; Make it pop! Spark happiness, and always remember; you are not the target group.

 

“We are proud of our FMCG focus. When we go to the supermarket, it’s like taking a stroll through an art gallery curated by us. As a design discipline, it’s a valuable challenge not to just rely on your own gut feel.”

Mikael Tonning, Design Director, EVERLAND

 

Make it POP!

For consumer brands, the product is the primary touchpoint. That’s the real billboard of your brand. And every single design needs to catch the attention of the consumer. And the consumer is an emotional and busy individual, so you’ve got to make the design POP! Not only does a product need to stand out on the shelves, in the shopping bag, and at the kitchen table. It needs to convey the right brand story (essence) and grab the right people’s attention. But it also needs to be likeable to be commercially viable. And that is the hardest part.

An FMCG product needs to be POPular, to have a broad appeal. The design needs to help sell products (preferably lots of them), create preference long-term while being attractive to a wide and diverse audience. To achieve that, you need to tap into today’s consumers and make sure your design is contemporary – and that it will stay that way. After all, when it comes to products, it is one big popularity contest. The most popular are the ones who become commercially sustainable.

Spark Happiness!

Another important factor when doing design is making it emotionally engaging. For us, that means instilling positive emotions, which become key to selling (lots of) products. Consumers simply associate your product and brand with something that brings joy to their life. Very few people react to negative emotions with an instinct to purchase the product. (Being negative is not the same as being against something, which can be empowering and unifying – and positive in itself). And remember, feelings first, rational second.

You want to be a positive element in people’s lives. You want to make a change for the better, however short-lived. Fun, warm, inspiring, tasty, witty, loveable, provocative, but to spark happiness with a design simply gives your product a better chance of survival, and it gives your brand a longer lifespan.

 

“Imagine the impact you have as a brand when you can make people smile. When you can make people feel good. Or make them aspire to something. Now that’s real impact.”

Christian Halsted, Strategy Director, EVERLAND

 

No Right Answer.

It’s also important to realise that when it comes to design, there is no right answer. It’s not math or science. There is no formula. Design is about a strong concept, superior craftsmanship, skills, and a great deal of intuition. Because what do people like? How does an insight or company value translate into colours? What is the fitting font for your brand promise?

A common phrase we use internally is “Don’t design for designers”. Forget your personal and individual preferences. You are already biased because of your work within design. The trick is not to hit a small niche segment but to target a broad group of people with long-lasting design. It’s not about writing that one punk-metal hit song. It’s much harder than that. It needs to think beyond yourself to make it to the top of the pop. To make it onto the list of the Beatles, Biebers, Björks and Bowies of the world. At EVERLAND, we call it popular design. We bring clarity to the brand essence, only to make the design POP!

Menu

0