Being, refined.
Honed is a personalized supplements brand that tailors vitamins to customers’ metabolic needs. After consumer feedback revealed an opportunity to address unmet trends, they engaged Applied arts for a complete rebrand. Working within a tight 12-week timeline, we crafted a new name, visual identity and cohesive brand strategy. We then activated this new brand through print collateral and a redesigned e-commerce site, resulting in an enhanced digital experience.
In branding, as in life, one is sometimes given a second chance at a first impression. Such is the case with Honed, a supplements brand that offers a convenient vitamins regimen tailored to an individual’s personalized metabolic needs. After launching the brand and building a loyal customer base, the founders at Ignite Venture Studios found themselves at a crosswords—a partner was ready to exit the business and consumer feedback revealed emerging trends the brand had not been designed to address. The solution? A holistic reappraisal of the business and relaunch of the brand with Applied arts as their strategic partner.
Our task was to meaningfully deliver the value proposition and stand out from the competition, a challenge in an already crowded category. This was further amplified by a tight timeline to transition to the new brand in just 12 weeks.
We began by immersing ourselves in the refined target consumer: health optimizers who prioritize feeling their best and seek evidence-based products that seamlessly fit their lifestyle. One of our first tasks was exploring a new brand name that resonated with this audience and could clear trademark registration. We evaluated hundreds of names, considering domain availability and social media handles, and within just two weeks landed on 'Honed'—a name that reflects refinement over time and the personal journey of integrating supplements into a daily wellness routine.
With the new name in place, we turned focus to design. We created a brandmark with rounded letterforms, as if shaped by the elements over time. Using motion design, we linked our tablet and capsule forms to the brandmark, and designed an iconography system that clearly communicated product benefits, giving us a defined design language. Our earthy and elemental color palette extended into color-graded lifestyle photography to maintain brand consistency. We then expanded this visual toolkit into a suite of assets for social media. Finally, we captured everything in a comprehensive brand guidelines document, enabling the Honed team to maintain brand cohesion across all touchpoints.
With six weeks left in the timeline, we focused on execution and activation. Our design teams tackled two parallel workstreams: print collateral—designing and producing all physical branded materials, including the test kit, lifestyle questionnaire, sachets, and cartons; and the digital experience—translating the new brand identity into an intuitive e-commerce website, creating UI/UX, product pages, and a checkout process aligned with the brand. We collaborated closely with production partners and web developers to ensure a flawless brand relaunch.
Since launching Honed, we've stayed actively involved in optimizing the brand. After all, refinement over time applies to branding as much as it does to personal wellness. Here's to becoming more Honed.
