OVERVIEW
Harry’s was born out of the founder’s frustration of having to overpay for juvenile-looking shaving products. In a grooming industry dominated by just a couple of heavyweights the plan was to get back to basics and provide well-crafted, quality products for guys at an affordable price. To say that plan has worked is a bit of an understatement. Since their launch in 2013 Harry’s has grown to over 10% of the US shaving market and expanded to the UK, Canada and multiple countries in Europe.
Harry's
WHAT WE DID
Industrial Design, Structural Packaging, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Liaison
DESIGN TEAM
Stuart Harvey Lee, Jochen Schaepers, Christian von Heifner
BRIEF
Cut through the clutter
When Harry’s were introduced to Prime Studio they had just two employees - Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield, the founders.
The moment we met them we were immediately excited by their vision of disrupting the shaving industry and providing well-designed products for guys who were tired of overpaying for over-designed razors.
Harry's enlisted our services, alongside the branding agency Partners and Spade (now known as Mythology), to develop their entire range of initial launch products and packaging. Our two agencies worked together in a collaborative sprint to bring the Harry’s vision to market in just 9 months. Along the journey to launch we tapped our extensive Prime vendor network and connected them with prototyping and manufacturing resources and intellectual property counsel.
PROCESS
Test, shave, repeat
Our design process began with a thorough competitive analysis. We tested rival products firsthand, evaluated their weight and balance, and examined ergonomic and styling features. This research culminated in a comprehensive report detailing best practices and key features for optimal razor design.
The team at Prime is incredible. We've worked with them on a number of projects at Harry’s around concept and design of our products. They are amazing partners and delightful to work with. Hope that they will be partners of ours for years to come.
JEFF RAIDER
CO-FOUNDER & CO-CEO, HARRY'S
For our stylistic inspiration we looked to the history of the shaving market as well as to other categories which cued craft and precision. We then started designing and iterating quickly to produce prototypes that we could test on our stubble to assess performance and ergonomics.
We invested a lot of time subtly sculpting the handle shapes and ensuring the weight distribution was perfectly balanced - there is no point in using a multi-blade cartridge if all of those blades are not contacting your skin when shaving because of poor handle design. So, although the razors might look simple on the outside they were carefully engineered on the inside to feel just like an extension of your hand.
The guys at Harry’s were new to the product development process so they appreciated our guidance and support. We even went to Asia with them a week before Christmas to check all the tooling was up to spec and the right quality control procedures were in place.
Given Harry's initial direct-to-consumer model, we eschewed traditional clamshells and blister packs in favor of minimalist, sustainable paperboard packaging. This approach, complemented by Partners and Spade's graphics, instantly differentiated the brand.
Recognizing that the shipping box often provides the first tangible brand interaction for DTC customers, we crafted an unboxing experience that evokes affordable luxury. Our starter kit design aimed to make customers feel they've treated themselves to something special from the moment they received the box.
THE RESULT
A grooming revolution
Harry’s quality products, provided at an affordable price due to their direct-to-consumer model, tapped an unmet need and the brand has grown phenomenally. Less than 2 years after launch they were able to purchase their own German blade manufacturing partner and the close relationship with their customers means consumer feedback goes right into future product development.
The Harry’s story was noticed by the Design community as well, and the exhibition and book “Beautiful Users: Designing for People” by Ellen Lupton features many of the original sketches and prototypes developed by Prime Studio.
We continued to work with Harry’s over a period of 5 years, supporting their industrial design and packaging needs as they built their internal team. This involved a wide range of projects and lead to a number of patents being issued. For example, we took the lead in working with the German factory engineers to optimize their cartridge design and adding a trimmer blade (a request which came directly through customer feedback).
We developed the structural packaging design for their eventual launch into mass retail at Target and optimized their DTC packaging as new products like shave foam came online.
Learn more about the Harry's Story:
