Klee
Case Study
Brand strategy and visuals for a new line of kitchen utensils
the challenge
Made for the mass market, not upmarket., Klee’s target audience was looking for well-priced, smartly designed kitchenware that did what they needed it to do, well.
But with many brands in this category and price bracket overpromising and underdelivering, Klee needed to find a way to win over homemakers who’d been burnt (literally!) in the past by cheap, poorly designed kitchen products.
what was their next?
We had to establish Klee as a brand intentionally focused on simplicity and value. By doing so, it would be clear that the brand knew its place and its products, and ultimately, delivered real value.
The brand needed to give its cheaper product line legitimacy and respect for what it was, without making the items out to be something they were not.
the process
Visually, we set out to keep things simple, clean, and straightforward.
Beginning with the logomark, we used a “K” shape with friendly rounded edges to take the edge off the wordmark’s bold typeface.
We offset the primary color palette of vibrant purples and yellow with an expandable, cheerful secondary color palette to offer versatility across all deliverables.
Packaging was designed to act as visual and tactile evidence that Klee’s products were designed for simplicity with an eye for detail.
Each pattern, icon, and seal communicates that despite the brand’s decidedly non-premium status, they take their products seriously.
Messaging was kept bluff and fluff free- like the brand’s tagline of “stuff that does stuff”. Products names such as “just a breadbox”, or “just some bowls” drove home the brand's raison d'etre with candor and confidence.
the results
We took a fresh, emergent brand of kitchen utensils and accessories and carved out a solid, fresh identity in the budget kitchen and home category.
Klee’s confidence, credibility, and solid, fresh identity carved out a space for the emergent brand to gain category leadership and impress consumers looking for stuff that well, does stuff.
