Last year Laced commissioned SomeOne to fully overhaul their strategic, verbal and visual BrandWorld. From the world’s finest auction houses to the most codified streetwear hubs, reselling sneakers and other contemporary, limited edition items writes headlines around the world featuring staggering prices.
But these marketplaces do little to welcome wider audiences, excluding a huge majority. Laced looks to be the first brand able to straddle an aficionado mindset with simplicity of use — opening up the brand to keen but previously uninvited customers.
After an extensive consultation process SomeOne arrived at a new strategy that positioned Laced as a trusted expert in all things luxury — We found that the firm stands by a simple but potent premise, ‘Promises, Delivered.’
Essential in all luxury goods is knowing the real thing when you see it — and proving it. Laced offers rigorous authentication of all items that pass through the organisation — we saw it for ourselves — their experts deploy everything from serial numbers to smell.
When they promise that something is the real thing, they deliver on that promise (and have it delivered). Designed using the all-new bespoke typeface, the updated Laced branding embodies a refined, assured and timeless construct.
The new typography offers an immediate visual anchor for the branding. The custom designed character sets replace previous approaches as a new benchmark in the sector for expertly curated, verified and delivered purchases.
The new BrandWorld is built upon two typefaces exclusively designed for the project. Laced Sans is functional, open and simple, while Laced Serif is more expressive and reserved to creatively highlight headline moments for the brand.
Importantly, both Laced Sans and Serif are highly readable in both upper and lowercase, allowing the user to fully immerse themself into content without obstacle. Ink traps in the Laced Sans ensures a clean overall aesthetic at all sizes on all media, while signature cuts on the Serif adds a flair and ownability in a notoriously similarly branded sector.
Inspired by NASA’s spacecraft parachute, the new Laced brand property represents the safe delivery of precious cargo to its final destination. The unique radial design comes complete with segments that epitomise our progress and unique step-by-step approach to authenticating products.
The segments are pieced together to form a closed ring reflecting Laced’s dedication to security and trust. Forming a key part of the new visual identity, the radial design will feature on all signature authentication tags. The new Laced identity is expressed through photography that puts real life at its centre. Unlike the items they host, Laced aren’t influenced by trends, they focus on authenticity and see things through an optimistic lens.
Product remains at the forefront of photography and retains focus, while the art direction complements and enhances the subject of the image. The rebranded photographic angle is further enhanced by a refined tone of voice.
With accessibility and simplicity at the forefront, Laced copywriting delivers through the use of welcoming, easy-to-understand language that shapes storytelling — curiously rare in the reselling sector.
To learn a little more, we spoke to SomeOne founder Simon Manchipp.
What was the brief?
Laced is the best online marketplace for sneakers, most loved, but not the most famous. Change that.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
The team at Laced were super open to ideas. In fact, it’s been hard to see where they end and we begin, everything joined up very smoothly. We had a stack of directions that looked interesting, and we pursued many until we arrived at the winner.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
Authenticity and care are the two big issues they wanted to amplify. Authenticity so people can 100% rely on getting what they paid for — and Care, so that they get what they paid for in the condition they expected.
The NASA Parachute idea encapsulated both. It’s designed to enable a very precious cargo arrive safely through an extremely hostile journey — plus the visual depiction made for an intricate seal of approval.
What was the production process like?
A broad team of specialists were connected to deliver the project — our friends at Colophon rocked the typographic detailing, working with them was a joy.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
Finding a way to make the new strategy of ‘promises delivered’ come alive visually. Creating an icon for a ‘promise’ is far from easy!
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
Specialist Typographic design systems, Adobe Suite.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
We visited the Authentication centre and saw firsthand how the pros distinguish between the fake sneakers and the real deal. It involves all the things you’d expect, and several that you might not, including smelling the shoes.
Each manufacturer uses a specific glue, and that glue has a signature scent. This means, astonishingly, their team can detect a fake in the dark.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
Laced is the industry-leading luxury goods marketplace.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
About a year.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
Taking Laced to the next level. It’s started already. Since the rebrand, they’ve just secured a £12,000,000 investment round.
Credit list for the work?
Simon Manchipp — Founder
Rich Rhodes — ECD
Beth Baines — Account Director
Ian Dawson — Senior Designer
