Concept & product Design
A globally recognised accessories brand built on considered design, strong sub-brand identity and high-profile creative partnerships.
The Overview
Herschel Supply Co. is a Vancouver-born accessories brand known for its distinctive design language and cult following across global markets. I joined as the first dedicated accessories designer, with a remit to both build the design infrastructure from the ground up and deliver seasonal collections across the brand’s four core sub-brands.
The Challenge
Coming in as the first assigned accessories designer meant there was no existing process, no design framework and no established way of working, just the brand, its ambition and opportunities. The role required building a scalable design system while simultaneously delivering commercially strong seasonal collections, and managing the creative demands of some of the world’s most coveted retail and brand partnerships.
The Thinking
The foundation of the work was understanding who Herschel’s customers actually were. Extensive market research led to the creation of distinct customer profiles for each of the four sub-brands, giving every collection a clear point of view and a specific person to design for. From there, each seasonal collection was developed from concept through to final execution, with the design infrastructure built in parallel to ensure the process could scale efficiently as the brand grew. Partnership work with Apple, Nordstrom, Stüssy, J.Crew, Liberty of London, BMW and Beams required the same rigour, each collaboration considered through the lens of the relevant sub-brand, presented to worldwide distributors and delivered to a high creative standard.
services
- Market research and customer profile development
- Seasonal collection design across four sub-brands
- Concept through to final design execution
- Partnership and collaboration design (Apple, Nordstrom, Stüssy, J.Crew, Liberty of London, BMW, Beams)
- Presenting collections to worldwide distributors
- Design infrastructure and process development
If you’re thinking about what your brand could extend into, let’s start a conversation.
