A new digital ecosystem

A challenger in a competitive market

Breaking through in the digital fragrance and beauty market in the Nordics demands a sharp user experience. Parfym.se trusted us to create a new, unique design and identity for their e-commerce platform, with the goal of strengthening their brand and reaching ambitious targets.

In recent years, the availability of beauty products online has exploded. The market for fragrance, beauty, and skincare is highly competitive, with many players offering similar products. The key question for companies in this space is how to find a niche and a clear positioning that stands out. And is it even possible to become top of mind in such a crowded market?

When we first met Parfym.se, the goal was clear: to use visual tools to clarify their customer offering and strategic positioning. One key success factor identified was the need for an updated brand expression that could be reflected throughout the entire customer journey and support a clearer market position. We quickly reached the same conclusion, and together began an exciting journey toward a new visual identity for both the e-commerce platform and other touchpoints.

“We’ve spent the last few years doing extensive work to define our brand positioning and strategic direction. What we lacked was a clear visual identity that reflected the transformation we’ve made and the journey ahead. Our challenge was to find the elements that highlight our leadership in fragrance and inspire, guide, and strengthen individual expression across the entire beauty category,” says Jonas Häggqvist, CEO of Parfym.se.

A brand in tune with its time

The journey began with a joint workshop aimed at identifying both the current state and the desired future state, helping to clarify the transformation the brand needed. Challenges and opportunities were discussed, and together we defined a set of design principles that guided the brand update and the new UX and design of the e-commerce platform.

The first phase focused on the brand itself. Parfym.se wanted a new logo, as well as an updated foundation for typography, layout, colors, and graphic elements. Based on the design principles, we established a clear and cohesive vision.

The brand should:

• Encourage individual expression

• Be clearly inspired by fashion

• Share knowledge, inspire, and guide within the beauty segment

• A design that challenges and engages

The next step was to apply the new brand expression to the redesign of Parfym.se’s e-commerce platform. Some existing elements were retained but modernized and refined, such as commercial areas and product listings. Other parts were redesigned more fundamentally, guided by the agreed design principles.

For example, we created clearer spaces and expressions for inspiration, guidance, and fragrance leadership. Nowadays introduced a colorful yet refined palette, a cleaner overall design, and also challenged Parfym.se to remove elements in order to make space for new ones.

To be continued

The collaboration between Parfym.se and Nowadays has been close and transparent, with continuous check-ins, demos, and iterations of the evolving design.

Following the completed project, Nowadays has been trusted to continue working with Parfym.se and is now supporting the team with a Creative Lead who contributes to ideation and the production of new campaign themes for 2024.