Case Study : On
This project came out of a gap of one week between client work and a missed FW26 forecasting cycle. I used that space to build a seasonal direction from the ground up.
Framed through the On brand, the work explores performance running through color: how it moves across a season, how it builds energy and how it translates into product and merchandising. It’s a focused exercise process anchoring in consumer and brand, then pushing through to clear resolved execution.
The first section establishes the foundation for the season, defining both the creative intention and the strategic context before moving into color. It begins by anchoring the work in brand principles, using them as a constant to guide decision making and ensure alignment with On’s core identity. From there, the seasonal narrative Still in Motion sets the emotional tone, exploring the idea of controlled stillness in contrast to an increasingly accelerated world. This concept informs not only the visual direction, but the pace, balance and restraint that carry through the work.
Alongside this, I outline the broader framework the season needs to operate within. Account tiering and the brand calendar provide a view of where and then the product lives - highlighting key moments, retail environments and opportunities for story telling. This is paired with a defined performance running consumer, grounding the concept in a clear audience with specific behaviours, expectations and motivations.
Together these elements move the work from a purely conceptual starting point into something more structured and applicable. They create a shared understanding of intent, audience and environment ensuring that as the project transitions in to seasonal colour, every decision is informed, relevant and positioned to resonate both creatively and commercially.
The final section incorporates a key account exercise, by exploring how the seasonal direction translates into a specific retail context. By looking at a partner through their consumer, positioning and buying behavior, it allows the work to move beyond general application into something more tailored and commercially precise. It also provides the opportunity to look at retailers through a specific brand’s lens as opposed to sweeping market statements about consumer patterns and buying behaviors, grounding it in a realistic product need and execution.
