Gillette: Identity and Packaging Design
The Gillette Company, founded in 1901 by King Gillette is one of the oldest makers of safety razors. Now, they mainly make manual razors, some of which are motorized, with disposable blade cartridges.

Gillette products are often more expensive than other shaving brands because they claim to use higher end, better quality parts that are more reliable and last longer.

However, Gillette’s brand has now become cliche and generic, and does not reflect the stability and equity that such an old brand should have.

It is important to create better brand perception, as Gillette’s products claim to be nicer than those of their competitors.

 

Concept
Gillette should be about trust.

I trust my Gillette razor because my dad gave it to me when I was sixteen. I’ve always used the same model. Gillette is the oldest shaving brand. One might even say, their presence could be like that of a father figure. However, right now, they look like a dad that is going through a midlife crisis. They are trying too hard to be young and hip, even though they have no need to be. Because of this, they appear dishonest and insecure.

Gillette doesn’t have to be relatable for young people to trust them. They need to be comfortable in their own skin.

Gillette is a confident presence that guides young men into adulthood. 

Gillette’s competitors include companies like Parker, Bic, Schick, Merkur, and Feather.

Bic is a manufacturer of disposable products such as pens. Most of their razors are the disposable kind that come in a cheap 10 pack. Merkur is a German manufacturer of ultra- high end double edged razors. Parker is known for their pricy luxury fountain pens, and like Merkur, is an ultra high end manufacturer. Feather is a brand of razors in Japan. They create extremely expensive double edged razors as well as disposable and midrange manual razors. They cater to the Japanese market.

Schick is Gillette’s closest competitor. Like Gillette, Schick creates manual mid-range razors that may also be battery powered. They also make disposable cartridges and pre/ post shave products.

Compared to Gillette, Schick’s products look ultra modern and sleek. They’re more spaceship looking than actual razors! They use themes of green, and water and waves.

They really seem to be trying to say their razors are the most gentle and the most comfortable in terms of personality, I may even venture to say that Schick feels slightly effeminate!

Gillette’s product line is large. While Schick has a lineup that caters to both men and women, Gillette has an even bigger lineup that only caters to men.

Gillette’s product line is nice in that they have many razors with varying degrees of closeness and price.

Just within their category of manual, powered razors, they have 6 or 7 different ones that apparently shave differently.

It’s too bad I have no idea how they’re different from one another.

It took several tries to get the razor and handle packaging correct.

First iterations had angles that were either too acute or obtuse that the razor could not fit, or the overall package was too big.

The overall shape of the base is inspired by the Gillette logo. The overall gesture of the shape is repeated in the top of the window that shows the product. However, the form is also pulled down, to allow the handle to show. 

I remedied the problem discovered during semi final presentations (that the project seemed overall too heavy) by changing the aftershave to a transparent package.

Another solution was was by creating a thin window on the shave gel bottle. The dimensions of the shave gel window directly come from the window of the razor package.

The shape of razor blade cartridges is inspired by the shape of a matchbox. The back flap opens up to reveal the Gillette logo. The original clear inner package from the old Gillette stayed because dispenser shape worked well.

The razor and shave gel forms are made from polypropylene, for a more durable package that feels significantly higher end than their Schick counterparts.

The cartridges are made from a heavy clear PETG with an outside made of SBS board.

The aftershave is made of a lighter polyethylene.