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When I started working with Fairy in 2011, the once iconic brand had become a victim of its own success. People were so familiar with Fairy that they were no longer noticing it, and the design leadership that the brand had shown in the past was nowhere to be seen.

To begin with, I looked at everything that was actually being produced in the brand’s name. Brand guidelines describe how a brand should look, but reality usually tells a different story. Much of the output was promotional materials that were typically cluttered and communicated nothing significant about the brand. Even the core identity had become unnecessarily complex and laden with clichéd elements. The brand seemed to be strong, but totally fragmented.

In iconic design, what you leave out is as important as what you put in. But many brand owners find it difficult to accept a ruthlessly edited visual identity, and executives at Procter & Gamble were no exception. We built a clear strategic rationale for simplification, supported by best in class examples from other categories. With the help and support of the design-teams at Elmwood, Landor and Grey, we were able to convince senior executives to change.

We reduced and re-drew the myriad elements the brand was using and formed the “iconic assets”: Logo (plate, wordmark), Color (green, red and white), Shape (the optimistic curve, distinct bottle) and Gotham typeface.

But simplicity alone is not the answer. These days, brands must constantly adapt to changing contexts, and for a brand like Fairy with a single product that only changes formulation — a living, breathing visual identity is all the more important. Everything created in a brand’s name communicates something about the brand’s values and purpose. At times, iconic brands cannot be rigidly consistent; the key is coherence.  As the design steward of Fairy’s visual identity, my job has been to bring a little 'wink' to everything from promotions to in-market communication.

My collaboration with Elmwood, Landor, Grey, Dialogue, WebbdeVlam and other creative agencies has produced work that has won some of the design industry’s top awards and our dedication to iconic design has helped increase the influence of design within Procter & Gamble.

A great many people around the world have contributed to the transformation of the Fairy brand, and I’ve collaborated with a lot of them. I’m just grateful to be a part of it.