The Pearl on the Coast - Design by FOLCH

Client: WOUF
Year: 2018
Tags: Art Direction, Brand Narrative, Editorial Design, Production

A brand narrative for WOUF

Every brand has a different story to tell. For the lifestyle brand Wouf it’s all about experience, taking their products to new and exciting destinations for each seasonal collection. Finding something that goes beyond the product itself, creating a completely new environment and language for the brand, in the hands of the right people – our ambassadors.

“It’s not about what you have, but how you choose to show it. Branding is about sharing an experience.”
Rafa Martínez, COO and Head of Brand Strategy

Looking towards new destinations

After the success of AW ‘17 “24h in Berlin” and SS ‘18 “A Long-Awaited Summer”, we decided to head to a new destination with our brand ambassadors – creative couple Nuria Val and Coke Bartrina. This time we let them take us to Copenhagen for the new AW ‘18 collection, to introduce an exciting addition – the new men’s line. In “The Pearl on the coast” we experience the gateway to Scandinavia, with all its hidden secrets. Through careful product placement, we simultaneously showcase the brand and new collection in n authentic environment. With a warm, light, and poetic tone of voice, now typical of WOUF, Nuria and Coke tell us their story.

Introducing a new line

To date, Wouf has focused on a female audience. However, as predicted during the rebranding process, new challenges lay ahead. The latest collection features 7 new series, tapping into a new male audience, and ranging from travel cases to keychains, laptop and tablet sleeves to bomber bags and notebooks. With this new addition, we also needed to rethink the format for the editorial story. An extended collection needed reinforcement, so we invited Alexandru Costin to be the male face for Wouf. Together with Nuria and Coke, they built a team and created a solid story that would reflect the experience of a couple enjoying a city break weekend.

“To find the authenticity in an editorial like this, the importance lay in finding the right spots, like a secret travel guide. We did a huge amount of research into different locations to be able to create a believable travel story. True to the brand, but also true to the city.”
Emmy Koski, Communication Director and Editor

Scouting the secret getaways

Scouting spots, finding the right locations, mixing the modern and the traditional – we worked on a production that would emphasise the classic yet, contemporary nature of the brand. The colourful houses, the harbour, the tivoli and the boulevards. Always on a bike, because that is exactly what one should do when in Denmark.

Together with Wouf, and with Nuria acting as the stylist, we found the right looks to go with the expressive designs. Urban yet sophisticated, young yet mature.

Defining the story, from dusk till dawn

The editorial was later to be edited to follow a certain narrative, from morning till late evening, from a walk in the German Quarters to a late drink in the industrial Meatpacking district. We managed everything from layout to copy, creating a story that would work for their newspaper style catalogue. But also across other media, such as Instagram and on their website under the section stories.

“It was important to maintain the tone of voice established in the previous stories – not only for consistency, but to continue to strengthen WOUF’s personality as a sophisticated lifestyle brand across all communication channels.”

Bis Turnor, Communication Manager

Inspirational stories in an ephemeral format

The printed support in the shape of a newspaper acts both as a catalogue and a lookbook. The layout follows the story with a mix of contrasting mood and product images. Again, emphasis is placed on the visual impact while simultaneously highlighting the narrative structure. An inspirational travel guide and catalogue in one.