Majorette Brand Redesign

Project Description

The focus of this project was to redesign the French toy car manufacturer Majorette. The brief was based on the brand wanting to expand to the American market and needing a new identity in order to stand out among its competitors Hot Wheels and Matchbox.

Problem

Majorette is relatively unknown in the US. In 2017, after an 18 year absence in the country, they partnered with Toys R Us to sell their products. However, Toys R Us’ bankruptcy the following year severely reduced the brand’s visibility. There are currently two large brands that control most of the US market: Hot Wheels and Matchbox, both owned by Mattel. Majorette is almost exclusively available at Target stores and relegated to a very small section of the toy car aisle.

Insights

I started with a creative brief where I studied the brand. I researched the history of their logo, milestones, their core values, brand attributes, their mission statement, target market and competition. After researching its history, competitors, values, as well as its social media; I found that they are very proud of their heritage and kept that in mind as I was redesigning their identity. I ideated ideas for a new logo that would respect their heritage while pushing forward into the future. A key element I found amongst most of their logos is that the "ajo" in “Majorette’ forms a person riding in a car, and I kept that in the new logo. The “J” has also become its own graphical element.

Solutions

The solution is a bright, simple redesign that looks modern while still being playful. The colors and packaging stand out from the light blue used by Hot Wheels and the orange used by Matchbox. As previously mentioned, I strived for preserving the “ajo” driver motif found in almost all previous iterations of the logo. The final design uses the colors red, white and blue to emulate the French flag and maintain a consistent design theme that stands out amongst Hot Wheels and Matchbox packaging. A blue and white stripe is used as a primary design feature along with the stylized J motif.