Fable & Mane is a modern hair wellness brand inspired by Ancient Indian beauty secrets. We worked with the F&M team to develop the brand from the ground up – working from Research, Strategy and Naming through to Brand Identity, Packaging and Print/Digital rollout​​​​​.

Fable & Mane is rooted in the founder’s Indian heritage and personal experiences. During a time of stress, she was reminded of the power of the Indian tradition of hair oiling and was drawn back to her roots for a solution. We helped take this story and turn it into a modern, forward-thinking brand that is still very much rooted in tradition.

Tigers occupy an important place in the Indian culture. Since ages, it has been a symbol of magnificence, power, beauty and fierceness and has been associated with bravery and valor. The tiger also has a significant place in Hindu mythology as the vehicle of Goddess Durga. The tiger is a key part of the brand imagery and is an important aspect of the logo itself as well as supporting illustration.

The structure of the label is very much a modern take on traditional Indian Beauty product packaging, which often used devices or containers to hold text and graphics. The rounded window shape of the core device also takes its inspiration from iconic and historic Indian architecture, bringing an eastern touch to a western design.

A key component of the F&M brand is its symbols. We created a clean keyline iconography style that felt modern whilst retaining an ancient quality. The visual style and positioning of the hands, in particular, draw upon traditional Indian culture.

We worked with Marcos Navarro to create a series of Story-led illustrations to help tie the brand components together, from Product Packaging to Portrait Photography and Key Messaging.

In contrast to some of the symbolism running through the logo and packaging design, the photography style we opted for was fresh, modern, and clean. When combined with a playful and bright illustration style, we crafted a perfect balance of ‘east meets west’.

We worked with the F&M team to create visually engaging and tactile POS displays and surrounding marketing collateral – making the brand feel cohesive at every single touchpoint

Using the same illustration style and combining it with typographic lock-ups, we created a series of ‘sticker devices’ which could be used as digital or physical brand assets across various pieces of brand collateral.

“Although the Fable & Mane identity is clearly rooted in tradition through the iconic symbolism and positioning of the brand, we have balanced this with a modern and relevant execution, using a positive tone of voice and a playful illustration style.”
Sebastian Needler, Co-founder, Alphabet