Zales
Retail Experience Design
Company: Prophet
Client: Signet Jewelers
My role: Creative Director
• Creative direction
• Visual brand identity
• Retail store experience strategy
• Project management
The TLDR
I led the revitalization of Zales’ brand identity and retail experience strategy, anchored in the brand positioning and notion of "real" and authentic love.
I directed the creative team in swiftly developing a scalable visual system, allowing for immediate campaign implementation. We also translated the brand vision into a retail strategy to enhance both legacy store retrofits and new store designs.
We delivered a comprehensive brand toolkit and experience framework, equipping Zale’s marketing and retail teams with scalable assets and guidelines. The refreshed identity and retail strategy positions them for growth and distinction within the Signet portfolio and ensures long-term brand cohesion and continued market relevance.
Zales’ challenge was to revitalize their historic brand and differentiate from other brands in the Signet jewelry portfolio, namely Kay and Jared. They enlisted Prophet to help them identify and better understand their target market and re-position their brand for distinction and growth.
Armed with a new brand strategy, brand positioning, and brand muse — all anchored in the notion of real — our creative challenge was to visually interpret the brand. Zales asked us to first establish an enhanced visual identity and then translate that expression into the store experience.
The Challenge
Facing an upcoming campaign and photoshoot, I led our design team in a three-week identity refresh sprint. The goal was to swiftly deliver a visual system and toolkit, ensuring Zales could promptly implement the new identity into their campaign work, and eventually across channels and touchpoints.
The final visual system heroes the brand attribute of real, authentic love and showcases the brand characteristics of quality, connection and inspiration.
The Identity
We defined a strategy for the Zales retail fleet outlining how to deliver the new Zales experience through legacy store retrofits and new store designs.
With store audits, stakeholder interviews, and Zales customer research analysis, we identified gaps in the current state experience and opportunities to improve the store for the future.
Anchored in insights and our Design & Experience Principles, we developed tangible experience concepts to inspire Zales’ retail teams as they reconsider the improved in-store experience.
The Retail Strategy
The Results
The revitalized brand identity system and retail experience strategy gave the Zales marketing and retail teams the inspiration, assets, and guidance needed to begin elevating the Zales brand in market.
“Prophet unlocked a brand direction that was completely distinct for Zales. We would not have been bold enough to make this step without the research, rigor, and creativity from Prophet.”
— Tony Rogers; CMO Signet Jewelers
“There is a seamlessness to they way the Prophet team works…they are great strategic thought partners, brilliant creatives, and feel like an extension of our team.”