👋, I’m Kimberly. I’ve been creating obsession-worthy brands for the past fifteen years. And now, I’m giving away my secrets every week in this newsletter.
I was on vacation last week. Here’s my son Chell, having a literal ball in Tahoe.
But I didn’t want to leave you all with no exciting branding content while I was away. So I’m digging into the archives…
Before I started my own newsletter, I wrote for The Startup, Medium's largest publication for entrepreneurs. Here’s one of my most popular articles that still gets plenty of love from readers today.
Why Beauty Brands Do UX the Best
Two weeks ago, Glossier’s SF pop up shut its millennial pink doors.
The concept looked like an odd pairing at first. Glossier had taken over Rhea’s Cafe, a classic diner, and sold its beauty products right alongside fried chicken sandwiches.
But the experience was so expertly branded and executed that the pairing seemed perfectly natural. And customers ate it up—the pop up resulted in a Glossier purchase every 20 seconds the store was open.
Let’s look at Glossier’s pop up through the lens of User Experience Design to see (1) what Glossier did right—and (2) how any brand can replicate their success on any platform.
The User Experience (UX) Design Lens
Don Norman, the inventor of the term User Experience Design, said
“No product is an island. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences.”
Whether you’re selling eyeliner, a car or even a data solution, you need to analyze all of the stages and interactions that surround your product and make sure they’re part of a seamless story.
In the beauty world, the difference between a $2 and $50 lipstick is mostly about the experience, not the ingredients.
This is why looking at how the best beauty brands create experiences is it a great place for any startup to learn UX lessons.
UX Consideration #1: The Why
The “Why” in user experience design refers to two things:
The User’s Motivations for Buying the Product
In the case of Glossier, the Glossier Girl is a beauty minimalist. She wants to look good, not spend a crazy amount of time on her appearance, and be her own beauty expert.The Values & Views Associated with Ownership of the Product
The Glossier Girl celebrates her individuality. She’s not trying to cover up her flaws, because they make her unique. She likes brands that are open, real, honest, playful and willing to experiment—brands that are like how she sees herself.
UX Consideration #2: The What
The “What” in UX refers to the functionality and features features of the product. In the case of Glossier, the products are all:
Simple: They say what they do and do what they say
Fun: They come in unique formats with playful names like Milk Jelly cleanser, Balm Dotcom, and Cloud Paint blush
UX Consideration #3: The How
In user experience design, the How refers to the design of functionality in an accessible and aesthetically pleasant way.
When crafting the “How” of a brand experiences, every brand should focus on what I call “The Big 3” — the 3 core elements of the brand that need to be integrated into every user experience to make the brand connect.
Why three elements?
When you’re creating content, three is the smallest number of elements required to create a pattern. (see The Rule of Three)
Focusing on just three elements makes it much easier to be consistently on-brand across all of your touch points.
It also gives you enough elements to work with, so that the experience doesn’t come across as one-note.
Based on their Why and their What, I would say that Glossier’s Big 3 are “Simple” “Fun” and “Personal.”
Here’s where the genius of Glossier’s pop up store really shines—as they ensure all three of these elements are always in play.
Turn Your Point of Entry into a Point of Opportunity
Rhea’s Cafe sits in a hip area of the Mission. Once Glossier took it over for the month, the front entrance was transformed—complete with pink and purple painted exteriors, a sign that looked retro-modern and giant Insta-magnet outdoor wall that read “Have a Nice Day, SF.”
Everything about the design was friendly, fresh and fun, inviting anyone who was curious to come inside and play.
Most days, there were lines of fresh-faced girls waiting to get inside. And this line became another opportunity for Glossier to create point-of-entry magic.
As the girls from my agency and I stood outside at 5pm on a sunny Friday, the pink-clad Glossier employee managing the entrance walked down the line carrying a bottle of the brand’s perfume, Glossier You.
“Have you tried our fragrance yet? It’s ahhh-mazing,” he said, as he got all five of us to eagerly put out our wrists.
“And it smells different on everyone. It works with your body’s chemistry to be totally unique to you. Try it—ok, smell each other now! See how different you all are!”
So we did.
And it kind of did smell different.
But whether the perfume chemically reacted with our skin in some remarkable way wasn’t the most noteworthy thing.
Glossier was taking our experience waiting in their line, turning it into a fast-learning moment about the product — AND getting us in the perfect mood to digest their brand story inside.
It was simple. It was fun. It was personal. Big Three, accomplished.
Give Your Experience the 360 Treatment
Once you entered Rhea’s Cafe, you were transported to rose-retro-diner-heaven.
Everything was uniquely beautiful. Everything was oh-so Insta-friendly. Everything made you feel good about you, including mirrors that literally told you “You Look Good.”
But while every detail had definitely been planned down to the Pantone, nothing felt overly designed or fussed over.
And the fact that they were also serving a limited menu of specialties at Rhea’s—like the fried chicken sandwich— alongside beer and wine to sip with your eyeshadows? It had just the right amount of quirk to make you smile.
Simple? Yes. Fun. Very. Personal? Even the mirrors were talking directly to you.
Go, Go, Go Through the Purchase Flow
Gaggles of girls surrounded product stations that were spread throughout the space, sampling and experimenting with all of Glossier’s offerings. More of the pink-clad employees milled about, there for questions without trying to hard sell you in any way.
Not only was the place designed to let everyone play with the products on their faces… it was set up for photos too. All along the counter were products interspersed with diner-y elements—like glasses, plates and platters. Because photos of your beauty products are part of the fun.
Once you were sold on the product on your person and on your Insta, Glossier kept the process (you guessed it): Simple, Fun and Personal.
Employees holding iPads took your order and swiped a card. When your order was ready, your name was called—and you got your pretty products in a pretty bag and Glossier’s well-known pink bubble wrap.
Your Insights
The Glossier brand “gets you” because they’re so close to their community. They have an incredibly strong understanding of Why (as it relates to their customers) and What (as it relates to their products).
Your Actions
Whether you’re a brand that leads with image or features, whether you’re selling concealer or software—you need to know your Why and What, backward and forward.
And when you approach your How, pick out your Big Three to integrate into every detail and every interaction of the UX.
Then, your branding will look as good on you as it does on Glossier 💋.
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About Me
I help early stage founders create the kind of brands that get customers so obsessed, they’ll do your advertising for you.
Based on my experience founding my own consumer brand, I developed The Branding Sprint—a uniquely collaborative, streamlined, and agile approach to brand creation.
Click here to learn more about The Branding Sprint, or schedule a call with me.