Project Overview

Dietary supplement stores are not the exclusive domain of muscle-bound bodybuilders. In fact almost anyone who is interested in staying healthy can benefit from supplement use. This was the insight of Perth entrepreneurs Muscle Worx, who already had a successful supplements business but wanted to broaden their appeal to a wider customer group.

Organisation

McCartney Design

Team

Gary McCartney - Creative Director
Tarquin Willis - Design Director
Lauren Gelling - Designer
Nerida Orsatti - Graphic Designer
Sinéad Kelly - Client Services Director

Project Brief

Their brief to McCartney Design was to design everything: create a new brand from scratch! Naming, Brand Identity and Store Design were all part of the scope.

We had to step away from traditional sports-supplement perceptions: Masculine and muscle-obsessed. Our task was to create an identity and environment that would appeal to a broad range of customers from post surgery patients to new mothers. The product range was to widen to include vitamins, minerals, teas and energy drinks, as well as a new range of natural and organic products.

Project Innovation/Need

This is a new offer in the supplements marketplace. It sits in the white space between bodybuilders’ stores (Which are focused on protein supplements) and discount vitamin stores, which have little or no customer service.

To identify a brand essence and name the new brand we ran a workshop in the company’s home in Perth. By looking at the existing customer base (already more varied than we had assumed) and delving into the company’s values we quickly arrived at the brand essence- “Support on the journey.”

Design Challenge

In designing the brand the main challenge was to attract new customers without alienating a large core customer group of bodybuilders. Naming was a challenge as always- a delicate dance between emotional and personal preferences, pragmatic consideration of what it means to the customer and the hard fact that most names have already been thought of and registered. We went back to the core principles of what the brand should mean to the customer.

One of the main insights along the way was that no matter who the customer is, they generally have a project in mind. Weight loss, stress management and inner wellness are common projects. So by a process of brainstorming and elimination, our name for the brand became Body Project.

For the logo work, we chose a universal form, the circle, to represent the journey, and broke it up to represent the stages of that journey. The colours provide energy and positivity and this is continued into the imagery, using vignettes superimposed on black and white imagery. It’s important to the concept that although we are using library images they are all branded, not generic. This is where the vignette treatment comes into its own.

The question customers are asked on entering the store is “What’s your project?” So, at the front of the store we have six dedicated project areas with their own dedicated imagery.

The rest of the in store imagery is chosen for its emotional effect.

Effectiveness

The brand is being judged from the client’s point of view by the success of the store.

First of all, is it visible? Our client doesn’t advertise so the stores, sited on busy thoroughfares, are their billboards.

The exterior of the store is a simple white box with a sign. In an incredibly busy roadside environment rich with over-signage, it provides tremendous cut though and visibility from the highway.

Secondly, is it productive? Customer traffic is high, and all chosen customer groups are well represented in store. They understand the store and can navigate it successfully.

And the ultimate test? It’s trading above budget!