Fragrance Direct

Fragrance Direct is a leading UK-based beauty retailer, offering over 2,500 products across 150 designer, high-street, and luxury brands. 

Focused on delivering premium beauty at competitive prices, the brand provides a curated mix of high-end favourites like Rabanne, HUGO BOSS, and Armani, alongside everyday essentials, the brand continues to evolve to meet customer demand.

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The Challenge

Fragrance Direct’s existing branding faced several key challenges. The colour palette was difficult to work with across multiple platforms, often clashing with product photography and making it hard to maintain a cohesive aesthetic and visual harmony.

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As the brand’s audience grew more diverse, there was a need to have colours that worked for both genders within their colour palette as well as appeal to an older audience.

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The previous bold and bright branding felt limiting, making it harder to appeal to a wider demographic. Additionally, it wasn't suitable for campaigns that required group shots and consistent design assets to showcase the full range effectively.

At the same time, Fragrance Direct still needed its campaigns to stand out. With an extensive product catalogue featuring a variety of brands, the new branding required a broad yet cohesive colour system that complemented different assets without losing its identity.

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Our Solution

Step 1: Strategy and Research

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Objective

To identify how competitors in the beauty and fragrance space were positioning themselves and using imagery in their campaigns.

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Action:

We analysed the market and competitor brands, noting the growing trend of simplified and clean aesthetics focused on product imagery. Brands that had toned down their bold design choices had been able to showcase their products more effectively. This research formed the basis of our rebranding strategy.

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Step 2: Brand Development

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Objective

The goal was to tone down the colours and focus on a more balanced aesthetic that allowed the products to shine while maintaining a playful, approachable brand voice.

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Action:

We refined the brand’s colour palette, stripping back overly bright tones in favour of a more pastel and balanced approach. To maintain flexibility across Fragrance Direct’s diverse product range and evolving demographic, we introduced a paired colour system, giving each muted shade a darker complementary tone.

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Step 3: Visual Identity Implementation

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Objective

To develop a design system that worked seamlessly across digital channels and retail touchpoints, enhancing product presentation while maintaining a strong brand presence.

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Action:

We created a refined visual identity that worked across emails, website, and social media. Bold typography complemented product designs, while props like ingredients unified the visuals. A brand-aligned photoshoot focused on spritzing and scent application to reinforce the fragrance connection. This approach maximised limited assets and elevated the product imagery with creative design.

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Results

By developing a brand that emphasises and compliments the range of products offered, Vagabond successfully positioned Fragrance Direct as refined yet approachable retailer, reinforcing its ability to offer premium fragrances at competitive prices.

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