Wick
The team at Wick: A Candle Bar had plans to open a sensory-driven retail experience that lets customers pour their own natural soy wax candles and customize sprays, oils, diffusers, and body care products.
ROLE: Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Project Management
OTHER CREDITS: Russel Quadros | Temper.is
The idea was clear, but the team needed help building a brand that would bring their vision to life.
THE CHALLENGE
The Wick team wanted a sophisticated design, on par with pre-made, off-the-shelf candles, and a brand story that would enhance the in-store experience and attract new customers.
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
We performed a competitive audit of existing competitors around the country. We found redundancies throughout the industry and were careful to choose what made sense to the Wick team’s goals.
Our concepts played off of the business name but were developed to align with the team’s aesthetic preferences, while avoiding industry clichés. This measured approach influenced the overall design style and color choices.
A NEW IDENTITY
Wick’s brand identity avoids the obvious, leaning away from a direct representation of flame. Instead, the branding is meant to represent light, scent, and a wick. From a story perspective, Wick’s focus is on scent, emphasizing the importance of connecting customers to a scent (or combination of scents) remembered or discovered. After customers create a custom scent they like, they’ll remember Wick every time they get a whiff.
THE RESULTS
With a new brand and suite of design assets, Wick successfully launched in fall 2019. They’ve seen steady growth since opening, and when the pandemic hit, we launched the e-commerce component of their website.