Background
Henry Higgs are a unique, British, luxury eyewear brand who successfully fuse classic, traditional design with high-grade materials to create their premium, handmade, wooden-framed sunglasses. Highly fashionable and distinctly individual, Henry Higgs eyewear is synonymous with superior quality, traditional design and unequivocal style.
Each pair of glasses is uniquely distinctive thanks to the natural texture in the wood grain. Frames are meticulously crafted from beautiful hardwoods that have been lovingly sourced from all over the world. Plus each pair of sunglasses is expertly designed and created by a Henry Higgs master craftsmen right here in the UK.
The Brief
Having created a premium new eyewear design, Henry Higgs were looking for a respected, strategic partner to craft a distinct brand identity as unique and timeless as their expertly handmade glasses. This included the privileged task of formulating the company name and image as well as creating the entire visual identity of the brand to bring this innovative new product to life and, more importantly, the retail market.
With a strong brand in place, Henry Higgs then needed to capture the individuality and quality of their new product through beautiful portrait and product imagery to successfully position their luxury eyewear.
Finally they required a fully responsive, easy to manage eCommerce platform that could both effectively tell this unique brand story and grow with the business as it moved strategically from launch phase to an established premium brand.
Our Approach
As an individual new company with an original product, Henry Higgs was in an exceptionally exciting position when they arrived at the Douglas studio and it is any creative teams’ dream to be at the forefront of such an exceptional brand’s conception.
By taking time right from the beginning to understand the workmanship and skill that goes into every single, handcrafted frame, the team gained a complete overview of the production process and, significantly, the values intrinsic to such an innovative company. To successfully construct its visual identity, we set out some guiding principles that acted as our compass throughout the entire project and included: recognising the unsurpassed attention to detail and exceptional quality of the product, the exquisite British craftsmanship that goes into every design, as well as the individuality, style and quality brought to each piece.
Taking our inspiration from the natural raw beauty of the wood grain materials and the traditional craftsmanship of the product we were able to draw-up a variety of imaginative concepts that worked in all necessary settings and on a broad range of product applications to bring this new brand successfully to life.
To differentiate from the competition and to attract and build long-term relationships with new customers, we knew we also needed to convey these attractive tangible qualities into their new online space. We knew the Henry Higg’s e-commerce site needed to feature best in class functionality like intuitive search and navigation, responsive design on any platform a seamless checkout experience and above all else beautiful product imagery.
On location
Our challenge wasn’t simply to create a premium eyewear brand and quality e-commerce experience; it was to provide a platform that enabled Henry Higgs to tell the brand stories that makes them so unique, to present their lovingly handcrafted pieces in a manner befitting of their quality and to translate the physical and emotional feeling of wearing such a beautifully and intricately fashioned piece of eyewear right through the screen.
Our process began with a focus on capturing the raw essence of the Henry Higgs brand. Contemporary, urban imagery invokes a sense of high fashion and the feeling of luxury and quality, which permeates throughout the design of each product.
By curating carefully styled product shots, included editorial images of the Henry Higgs master craftsmen at work, customers can easily hone in on the attention to detail and technical craftsmanship that is lovingly poured into each individual Henry Higgs frame.
The end result? An immersive new narrative that provides the perfect showcase of Henry Higgs designs for use in print and digital.
Creative Solution
The Henry Higgs logo and colour palette were designed thoughtfully and with the natural product materials in mind. By creating a brand guide that perfectly captured the handcrafted, raw essence of their eyewear, the focus could rightly remain on the skill and product of the Henry Higgs master craftsmen.
To bring the new brand to life our team created a visually stunning online platform that mixes editorial content with a simple path to purchase, enabling customers to immerse themselves fully in the Henry Higgs story without disturbing their flow through the site as they make their purchase. The image-centric, mobile friendly site is fully responsive and minimally elegant to tie-in with the easy, effortless style of the Henry Higgs customer.
Beautiful imagery, including detailed product display shots, re-affirm the quality of Henry Higgs eyewear at every step of the customer journey and help to showcase each individual frame at its very best.
It’s clear that the time-spent understanding the craftsmanship involved in creating this product instilled a deep knowledge and respect for Henry Higgs in the project team that exudes from every page as you navigate the site.
