Wavy Blue
designing the brand, messaging & launch of a black hair care brand
the challenge
Wavy Blue was started by two university friends that saw the market gap for personal care products for black men. While black hair care products were emerging for black women, there were still sparse product offerings on the shelves tailored to them. So they took it upon themselves to create Wavy Blue and their first product: the Curl & Coil Balm. As a completely new brand, they wanted to launch their product to the public and get it right.
Meanwhile, two university friends and I had founded a purpose-driven consultancy called Agency Dante. Coming from big branding and marketing companies, we wanted to adapt the corporate toolkit to one that made sense (both functionally and economically) to early-stage startups — particularly for minority and female founders. When we met Wavy Blue, we knew it was a match.
the approach
Audience Insights
Who is the design target, and how do we win them?
1
Brand & Messaging
What framing of our story will resonate most deeply?
2
Launch Strategy
How do we successfully go to market?
3
my role
While I was involved in all parts of the project, I took the lead on audience insights and messaging.
For the first phase, I conducted in-depth interviews with target users to understand their self-perceptions, preference for personal care products, and pains in their hair care routines.
From these insights, I crafted three brand directions for the Wavy Blue team to select one to move forward with.
After we solidified the brand strategy, I led the website wireframing and copywriting to reflect the new confident, authentic, and encouraging tone of voice.
the results
With our branding and messaging, the Wavy Blue team applied to and received Glossier’s Grant for Black-Owned Beauty Businesses, awarding them $10,000 and a spot in a six-month accelerator for 1:1 mentorship from Glossier’s senior leadership team.
