Tens x GLASGOW
'Born out of a love for photography'
This project at Glasgow School of Art gave me the opportunity to work on a live project with a young Scottish sunglasses brand, Tens, and develop an innovative brand experience for them. Through an ‘experience design’ approach, I would explore how design could build on Tens’ business goals and brand values to develop touchpoints that connect the audience and the brand in new and innovative ways.
I looked at the project through a lens that took Tens' unique brand roots in photography, a unique aspect the business, and pushed this to the forefront of the user experience. Thus creating a stronger brand identity and relationship with the consumer. There is a 'Tens' way of looking at life (their sunglasses have a unique warm filter in them) and this is something the user should understand, even participate in.
I would propose to create this special brand-consumer relationship through a pop-up store-turned-gallery experience. Tens would open different 'galleries' in cities around the world, filling them with photos submitted by local photographers that they thought screamed 'Tens'. When customers went to the gallery, they could purchase sunglasses (with which they get a small print/leaflet) as well as buy prints of the exhibited photos. This is what sets Tens apart.
The outcome for the project took form in a number of ways. To go with my gallery proposal, I took on the small task of redesigning some of the packaging of the sunglasses, the first-line of the consumer experience. This is important, if someone buys the glasses online (for example), they still need to feel this strong connection between Tens and a passion for photography. The packaging would subtly reflect camera details in form and colour.
Tens x GLASGOW
As a way to communicate the intended experience, I created a small section of the gallery in our presentation space. This included a large print, a proposed way to display the sunglasses with it and the associated products laid out in front (including the small print that would come with each pair, framed.) It was delighted to have the featured photographer there on the day of presentation. It was also a great experience to present my project to the owners of Tens, who gave me great positive feedback.
I was pleased with my position at the end of the project. It was a great introduction to brand design, an area that I would be interested in exploring further. I also feel that the proposal could really shape the company's consumer market and it's a transferable and applicable concept on a global scale. In this sense, developed further, my project could have some real real-world value.
