Many luxury food brands struggle to humanize their story without undermining perceived value. Traditional mascots and character illustrations often feel childish, promotional, or disconnected from claims of craftsmanship and ingredient integrity.
The character needed to:
The initial illustration direction leaned toward:
Issues identified:
This created cognitive dissonance between the brand’s story and its visuals.
Rather than discarding the character entirely, the decision was made to evolve her.
Key refinements included:
Élodie Verlaine represents the brand’s lineage—an artisan inheriting knowledge rather than inventing a persona.
She is shown:
This positions her as a guardian of quality, not a marketing symbol.
From a UX perspective, the final character design:
The character functions as a trust anchor, appearing only in editorial contexts.
The final illustration successfully:
This case demonstrates how UX thinking can guide brand illustration decisions, not just interface layouts.
The visual system was translated into a physical storefront context to validate longevity and real-world credibility. The engraved illustration functions as a heritage marker rather than a focal character.
