LETTER A

I went deep into the Country Living magazine this weekend. It started with a stat I read — the magazine has 57% year-over-year growth in its membership. Country Living, for me, always had an air of dowdy suburbanness so I was surprised when I read that Gen Z and Millennials now account for 51% of its audience. So I checked it out. Country Living 2026 is better than the Country Living of the old-timey days of 1996. It still codes trad and the voice is a little click-bait-y at times, but reader, I READ. So many delightful and interesting articles — that GO DEEP — on lawn care, birdwatching, door-knockers, pie baking, miniatures. Case in point: "The Antiques Lover's Guide to Bird-Themed Collectibles." Here's the link for those kindred spirits. (It's fascinating!) https://lnkd.in/gt8nsQnn Rachel Hardage Barrett, the Editor-in-Chief, described their approach as "almost like the opposite of SEO" and “is all about surprise and delight, like you almost don’t even know what you’re looking for.” Note that: Most content right now is engineered to be found. Country Living wants you to wander through. What I also love is that Country Living didn't broaden its scope to get here. Or fill its feed with articles full of word salad paired with stock photos. It went deeper into it. Doubled down on plants and pies and porch geese and dollhouses. Beautiful photography. Being completely, specifically its Country Living self. If you're building a brand right now and questioning whether your world is too niche, too weird, too particular — I'd push back on that. Country Living is proof that specificity is the whole point. Lean into your quirky. Sooooo.... Does Gen Z know about Victoria Magazine? Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion? Someone has to tell them.

This USA Today article landed in my feed this week and it confirmed something I've been thinking about for a while. Kids are going to the mall. "𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨." I very much remember HOW FUN it was to bop into each store and immerse myself in a full-on sensory experience different from the next. I even worked at Banana Republic (post-Safari-days) and totally understood the rarefied air we were supposed to project and maintain. I think that's where my love of branding started. Because retail, at its best, is a brand essence made physical. The fullest, purest expression of what a company actually believes about itself. Who can forget the smell of an Abercrombie & Fitch Co. store? In college, my roommate sprayed it on her pillow. The mixtape they sold at [Limited] EXPRESS — where I heard French pop music for the first time? The walls of colored t-shirts at Gap, when it was The Gap? The extremely bright white lighting at a Benetton store. The mannequins at Esprit? The entrance to Hollister Co. sweeping you into California, so far from where I actually lived. These weren't accidents. Someone made choices that became iconic cues. Someone said: 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴. That's a brand world. You walked into it. This is actually an exercise I use with clients at LETTER A— especially the ones who don't have a physical space (which is most of them). If your brand had a store, what would it smell like? What music would be playing? What's on the walls? What sort of chair do you sit in the fitting room waiting for your mom or your friend? How do the employees greet you? The answers tell you exactly what you believe, how you want people to feel, and who you're building this for. That's the work. The kids are still at the mall. And I don't think that's a problem — I think it's actually kind of wonderful. Retail is where you first learn that a brand can make you feel something. Which is exactly why I keep asking clients: what does your store smell like? Because if you can answer that, you know exactly who you are. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/g3SnUe6a #branding #brandidentity #brandstrategy

The Bob's Red Mill redesign. Let’s talk about it! As brands grow, they often feel pressure to become more consistently "designed” to create more “shelf impact.” I get it. And sometimes that's exactly the right move and perhaps the inevitable turn for all brands needing to grow beyond a niche consumer. Turner Duckworth did an excellent job bringing clarity to Bob's Red Mill with its latest redesign. The new system checks all the boxes — cleaner, easier to navigate, and stronger on shelf. But I also really loved how it looked before, too. I admit, it was crowded. Too much to read. The hierarchy wasn't perfect. It was quirky. But it was exactly this uncorporatey-ness that made me feel like a baker “in the know.” Reader, I spent TIME with that undesigned-yet perfectly-designed packaging. It was a perfect mixture of beguiling and enchanting. There are very few examples left of “unpolished” or vernacular design left these days. Kiehl's Since 1851 and Dr. Bronner's have shockingly resisted the urge to sand those edges off and these qualities become part of their equity. Design legend Tibor Kalman often spoke about vernacular design as “visual slang” that hasn’t been “ordered or purified by the methods of trained practitioner—” “𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘪𝘢, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘺𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦... 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. I have a friend (Katie Toker hi!!) building a very tasty granola brand right on her farm. She has a hand-stamped, stencilled "logo" placed on off-the-shelf brown bags. She reached out to me to rebrand, feeling like that was the next step to feel more "real." And I told her I wouldn’t, couldn’t touch it. It’s perfect. It’s her. There is beauty in her earnest design. Because once you replace charm with polish, it's very difficult to get the charm back. I wonder if there was a happy medium that Bob’s could have found. Can you have something that leans into market-ready polish or is it a risk to carve away some of the charm and brand equity Bob’s has amassed? #cpg #bobsredmill #rebrand #branding #marketing #packaging

The beauty brand, The Ordinary, opened several pop-ups this month called “The Markup Marché” where everyday grocery items were packaged and priced like luxury beauty products. Bananas became “All-Natural Magical Energy-Boosting Bars.” Toilet Paper became “High-Retention Cleansing Cylinder.” They slapped labels on each item mimicking the exact language and visual codes used across beauty and wellness marketing. 🍌 🥥 🥑 🍇 🍎 🍍 Reader, I LOL’D. The point was obvious. Strip away the branding, and much of what we buy starts looking silly. But it got me thinking about something else.  I know I’m being sold to, but maybe part of me likes it? My entire career has been built around elevating the ordinary. (ha ha) We say we want honesty from brands, but we also want elevation. We say we want authenticity, but we also crave aspiration. The Ordinary (owned by DECIEM | THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY) built its brand by rejecting traditional beauty marketing language, then used impeccable branding to critique branding itself. That’s why the campaign works. It understands something uncomfortable: we’re skeptical, but we still want seduction. To me, it seems what we’re grappling with now is this tension between transparency and theater. We want that dopamine hit. We want to feel part of something bigger, different, better. But we also want truth. Amirite? 🍌 🥥 🥑 🍇 🍎 🍍 🍌 🥥 🥑 🍇 🍎 🍍 🍌 🥥 🥑 🍇 🍎 🍍 🍌 🥥 🥑 🍇 🍎 🍍 Read some experts’ takes on this here from Beauty Independent https://lnkd.in/g98ZTQrB Concept by Uncommon Creative Studio 🧑🍳😘 #BeautyIndustry #MarketingTrends #Branding #Sephora #BeautyBusiness #wellness #beautybranding

I thought this article from ELLE about how the MTV generation is entering SEPHORA super interesting. https://lnkd.in/g2HukcKA As a Gen X-er, I don’t have a go-to beauty brand. Which is kind of wild when you think about it. I love experimenting and I pretty much buy a new lipstick every couple months thinking, “this will be the one.” It never is. (Also tracks that Gen X is predicted to outspend everyone else on skincare and makeup, according to this article.) It’s nice to hear some brands are starting to pay attention to "women of my age" so I can keep this hobby going and not feel like I’m sitting at the wrong lunch table (ahem, Glossier). What I still hear is: 1) look younger or 2) radically accept. As if those are the only two settings vs. just being ok with where you are, which feels like the most normal option and somehow the least marketed. And TBH I’m cycling through all three depending on the day. But the more I think about it, the gap isn’t only product. It’s voice. That’s why brands like SARAH CREAL BEAUTY, MERIT and Jones Road Beauty feel different. Not perfect, but closer. A little more self-aware. Honest about this life stage. Which, oddly, still feels new. Gen X women sit in a strange blind spot for brands. Too culturally fluent to be ignored, too commercially valuable to be dismissed, but still largely absent from the conversation. A huge white space. Now if Pamela Anderson has a brand now, I’d absolutely try Jennie Garth’s. #GenXBeauty #InclusiveBeauty #BeautyIndustry #MarketingTrends #GenX #Sephora #BeautyBusiness

Next Tuesday, March 10 I'll be presenting at The Print Design Summit. My talk is about how great packaging makes great content The Print Design Summit is a free, five-day virtual event for designers who want to design beyond screens. Learn how print and packaging move from screen to shelf, using real projects, materials, and decisions from designers doing the work right now. If you are a graphic designer and your work only lives on screens... join us. March 9–13 Get your Free ticket here! https://lnkd.in/g-2CxeuD #graphicdesign #printdesign #packagingdesign

JURY SPOTLIGHT Allison Henry Aver is the founder and Creative Director of Letter A, a boutique branding agency specializing in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. With a distinctive eye for modern elegance and strategic design, Allison has helped shape memorable brand identities that balance aesthetic refinement with commercial impact. Allison currently serves as a juror for the Print Awards, bringing her expertise in visual storytelling, packaging, and brand expression to the evaluation of the year’s best work. Don’t miss your chance to enter — the Print Awards deadline is coming up soon on February 24th. Learn more about PRINT Awards at: www.printawards.co

This year Letter A turns 6. Six years of building strategic, creative foundations that ensure brands show up with confidence, alignment, and distinction across all their channels. We had a FANTASTIC year last year. We were able to attract more like-minded business partners and did even more of the work we love. I am extremely thankful for the people who trusted their brand with us last year and proud to share their names. 🍫 Spring & Mulberry 💍 Kinn Studio 👗 TANYA TAYLOR 👟 Omius 💍 Enea Jewelry ⚽ Foot Locker 🫶 Kate McLeod 🥿 Northstar Sourcing 👩🦱 Sarah Warren +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 🟡 Letter A is a boutique branding agency serving fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. We clarify to amplify.  We build strategic foundations so your brand shows up with confidence, alignment, and distinction across every channel.