Beauty is effortless in new branding for FFS women’s shaving by Free The Birds

 London based design agency Free The Birds has created a new brand identity and positioning for FFS, the UK’s first and biggest direct-to-consumer women’s shaving brand. The new identity will be rolled out across the brand’s assets through July 2020.

Free the Birds has updated the FFS logo and introduced a new, premium aesthetic using a distinctive white geometric pattern on a pastel colour palette, enhanced by an accent of a darker, richer colour. A new tagline, “Beauty should be effortless,” reflects the brand’s ethos: to make beauty routines and purchases easier through a subscription service delivering quality products.  

Des McManus, MD of FFS Beauty said: “When we launched the brand back in 2015 it was about rebellion and shaking-up the tired and often overlooked women’s shaving category with an irreverent, raised eyebrow. Five years on, and proud of all that we have achieved, it felt like the right time to refresh and showcase how we’ve evolved. The new FFS Beauty name, look and feel reflects our growth into a more sophisticated, conscious and contemporary brand, but one that remains committed to disrupting the wider beauty industry without taking itself too seriously.”

The FFS brand name, which originally stood for “Friction Free Shaving,” has been evolved to unlock visual and verbal twists on the acronym. As part of the identity, Free The Birds came up with modern-day alternative meanings to resonate with its audience – to include everything from “For fun’s sake,” and “For fabulousness’s sake” to “For fairness sake” and “For future’s sake.” The new design will launch across the brand’s social media content and web design also during July.

Paul Domenet, Communications Creative Director at Free The Birds said: “Having the opportunity to help FFS elevate their refreshingly singular brand to the next level has been a joy. Brilliant products, brilliant people and a brilliant attitude which can cut through a very vanilla category.”

FFS Beauty designed the first ever metal-handled razor for the female market which won Product of the Year 2019 for its iconic rose gold finish. The razor handle is manufactured in the UK, along with all FFS shaving and beauty products (excluding the blades which are made in Germany) making it one of if not the most carbon-neutral shaving brands in the country. It has also created a range of bespoke, supporting and cruelty free products, keeps plastic to a minimum and runs the UK’s first blade recycling scheme – something that has proved a huge hit with its customers.

Now with approximately 100,000 subscribers, FFS Beauty is also available for one-off purchases on the High Street (in Boots) and well as online retailers (Amazon). The brand’s product range is also set to expand later this summer across both digital and bricks and mortar stores – with details soon to be revealed.

Credits

Agency: Free The Birds

Partner & Communications Director: Paul Domenet

Partner & Creative Director: Nick Vaus

Design Director: Matt Gilpin

Designer: Katie Harbord

Account Director: Emily Mills

  Branding, Free The Birds, Product Design, Shaving