Charles Zuber

Practices

Services

Industry

Retail

Brief

Charles Zuber is a high end luxury watch and jewelry atelier born in Geneva, Switzerland, that approached Brand Lounge to solve their challenge of breaking into the luxury market as a new brand. We positioned and created a brand that had to address multiple factors; serving its Swiss legacy, playing in a field of new luxury, and defining a movement that had yet to surface in the world; a Neo-Swiss luxury experience.

Differentiation

Charles Zuber needed a brand that was highly visible amongst competitors, and positioned in a way that was truly differentiated within the category of the industry. We devised a strategic positioning of Charles Zuber as a Neo-Swiss luxury brand that emphasized “La vie, exubérante”. Born from our take on the archetype of the Performer, Charles Zuber is all about exuberance, provocation and escaping the norms, and takes the audience on an emotional journey of the unexpected. Fueled by obsessive creativity, an affinity for crafting mesmerizing moments, and a daring vision, the Charles Zuber brand is intended to captivate the discerning elite who seek the provocative beauty of simplicity.

The main challenge was to introduce Charles Zuber to the world; a new player in an extremely competitive market, and to ensure that the brand launch gained its deserved exposure and awareness. Our objective was to position Charles Zuber as a strong contender amongst its competition, which in itself came with its own challenge; understanding the “willingness to pay” amongst consumers, which was addressed by defining the emotional and functional aspects that create enough value to do so.

The Strategy

Defining Desire

The main challenge was to introduce Charles Zuber to the world; a new player in an extremely competitive market, and to ensure that the brand launch gained its deserved exposure and awareness amongst relevant audience that could live on the same playing field as other luxury benchmarks. Our objective was to position Charles Zuber as a strong contender amongst its competition, which in itself came with its own challenge; understanding the “willingness to pay” amongst consumers, which was addressed by defining the emotional and functional aspects that create enough value to do so.

Creative Strategy

A Neo-Swiss Design Philosophy

Our Neo-swiss design philosophy cascades onto all aspects of our visual language, from typography, to color to photography.

In the context of the Charlez Zuber brand, Neo-Swiss can be defined as a distorted conception, one that is propelled in motion and enters a new dimension of luxury.

Neo-Swiss Design Explained:
Neo-Swiss is an immersive experience that blends luxury with a daring attitude.
Neo-Swiss is a distorted conception, one that is propelled in motion and enters a new dimension of luxury.
Through the lens of captivation, Neo-Swiss stimulates the senses, induces lust and captivates desire.
Neo-Swiss drives a sense of attachment from the curious crowds who seek the iconic.

The Visual Identity

The Logo & Descriptor

The Charles Zuber Logo is the translation of Neo-Swiss Design infused with redefined luxury codes. Our Logo is designed to reflect the design philosophy of Charles Zuber, that is of distorted conception, and the provocative beauty of simplicity. Our logo is designed with two elements: The Charles Zuber wordmark and the word ‘Geneve’ in French.

Typography Style

Dynamic Text

To achieve our design philosophy of DMD, we experimented with the usage of type by stacking, warping and rotating our body copy, which we coined “dynamic text”. Dynamic text is a cornerstone of our visual identity; by bringing movement to our communication, we were clearly able to capture the principle of motion. Dynamic text is a cornerstone of our visual identity. By bringing movement to our communications we are clearly able to capture the principle of motion.

The essentials

Color Story

To celebrate the legacy of Swiss design, we introduced a color palette primarily dominated by the color “Citrine” to bring a tie-in with Swiss heritage and to maintain a sense of luxury. We balanced this with “Onyx” and “Ivory”, two colors that define the modern-day era of luxury and bring a sense of ultra-refinement to the brand. The secondary color palette infuses jewel tones to help soften the brand in unique communications, especially those focused on the Charles Zuber jewelry line.

Product Feature

The Lucerne Star

In order to revive the spirit of the brand’s founder Charles Zuber himself, renowned Swiss jewelry designer, we developed a unique symbol of his legacy through an ownable mark donned as the ‘Lucerne Star’. The inspiration behind this symbol was a mark of true Swiss heritage; and an enchanting story that lives on through time. When Charles Zuber was 15 years old, he dropped out of school to chase his dreams of becoming a master jeweler. During his apprenticeship at Burger, he created the star for the town’s annual competition, which continues to glimmer in the streets of Lucerne to this day as a glistening ode to the creative genius that once was. Today, the Lucerne star lives on as an ownable brand element featured in novelty pieces of the brand’s high-horology collection.

Photography

Fueled by obsessive creativity

In realizing the urgent need to develop a portfolio of ownable assets from product photography to lifestyle imagery and a brand film, we shortlisted Lara Zankoul, a Beirut based Fine Arts & NFT photographer, who truly encapsulated the vision for Charles Zuber’s campaign. The Brand Lounge team worked closely with Lara to conceptualize the shoot, select the right talents, and storyboard the brand film from ideation to execution – resulting in an asset library of over 120 lifestyle & product imagery and a brand film. The creative manifestation of the shoot was a translation of our design philosophy (Dimension, Motion and Distortion) through the lens of Lara Zankoul and a true visual portrayal of “La vie exubérante”.

Launch Campaign

Bringing the Brand to Life

With a library of over 120 assets, we developed Charles Zuber’s launch campaign which began through a heavy social media presence, considering our target audience are digital nomads, fluent in the most relevant media channels of today. Our campaign revolved around three primary messages, “Time is an Illusion” focused on our watch collection, “Life is a Performance” focused on our jewelry collection and “La Vie, Exuberante” as an overarching brand message.

The Web Platform

The Realm of Exuberance

To launch the brand, we developed a website suited for a brand that moves from the traditional and enters the realm of the unpredictable. Utilizing our design principles of Distortion, Motion and Dimension, the Charles Zuber website captures the Neo-Swiss design philosophy in its fullest by bringing in motion and introducing an e-commerce platform with high interactivity at core.

Retail

Making it Tangible

Every touch-point of the Charles Zuber retail experience was captured through the lens of a Neo-Swiss design philosophy, from packaging that defies the traditional through its asymmetric designs, to uniforms that standout as young, fresh and captivating, to an overall museum-esque approach for the retail stores.

The Results

Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2022

Abu Dhabi Art 2022 was a pivotal moment for the Charles Zuber brand and its first-ever public appearance. As the lead sponsor for the event, Charles Zuber did not go unnoticed. Through an extensive effort by Brand Lounge, we helped conceptualize two unique spaces for the brand alongside a private VIP dinner which introduced the brand to the globe through the lens of the art world.

Charles Zuber was one of the many luxury watch brands present at the infamous Watches and Wonders held yearly in Geneva. The brand’s presence solidified its positioning as one of the latest and most provocative and sought-after entrants into the world of neo-horology.

The Results

Watches and Wonders 2023 Geneva

The Results

YAS Mall Store Opening

In May 2023, Charles Zuber opened its first physical retail store at Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi where many influential figures attended the private VIP event to celebrate the exuberant realm of the brand.