🎨 The Birth of MEDLEY’s Visual Identity
Interview with our French graphic designer Damien - The Making of Medley’s Visual Identity
Q. Can you introduce yourself briefly?
A. I’m Damien, a graphic designer based in Toulouse, France. I mainly work around lettering. I create various visual works related to “letters”: typography, calligraphy, graffiti, painting, and more.
🎨 Ideas & Artistic Direction
Q. What was your first thought when you discovered Medley's concept - combining musical styles with perfumes? What made you accept the project?
A. I immediately really liked the project. Visually, the connection between the two offers so much material and inspiration. I was also very curious to discover the scents that would emerge!
Q. What inspired you to merge these two sensory languages, sound and scent, in your graphic work?
A. I started by researching illustration styles I wanted to develop. But the idea that music spreads like a perfume made sense. There are many parallels in how people experience them.
Q. Even before starting to draw, what emotion or atmosphere did you want Medley’s visual world to convey?
A. The goal was to create an identity accessible to everyone while maintaining a strong sense of uniqueness. Specializing in lettering, I immediately wanted to create bold lettering that could represent both a perfume brand and a music label.
✍️ Logo & Visual Identity
Q. Can you tell us about the origin of the final logo and the overall Medley visual identity? What were the first ideas?
A. As mentioned, I approached the identity aiming for something instantly recognizable, similar to Motown and its iconic M. The initial idea was also to bring dynamism, either through letter movement or a mix of typographic styles.
Q. Did you try to reflect a French or Franco-Korean identity in the logo design? If yes, how? If not, how do you see the logo’s identity?
A. Music is universal, so I didn’t want to restrict the identity in any way. One concept did incorporate French finesse: an M drawn as if on a musical score.
Q. Were there versions or concepts you liked but that weren’t retained?
A. My favorite from the start became the final version. We developed it further after presenting the first three concepts.
💿 Perfume Labels Design
Q. You also designed the labels for the first three perfumes. How did you approach this variation?
A. I started with two completely different directions. One was a stack of naive illustrations representing the musical universe of each perfume. The other personified a letter from the logo as an instrument or object, with a scented smoke rising from it ; as if playing music created a scent that spread around.
Q. Jazz, Classical, Pop… did you feel a particular affinity with any of these styles while creating them?
A. I started with Jazz and Classical to create a coherent style across two labels. These were simpler because iconic instruments are associated with these genres in collective imagination.
Q. The next three perfumes haven’t been released yet, but you’ve already designed their labels. Were they harder to imagine than the first three? If yes, why?
A. The more you create, the harder it is to differentiate while maintaining the musical essence. The most challenging for me were Pop and Tango. For Tango, I depicted a dancing pair of letters, while other labels featured a single letter with an instrument.
🛠️ Process & Methodology
Q. What is your usual workflow : sketches, moodboards, typographic research…?
A. I usually start by sketching on paper, then move to the iPad. It’s the best way to get initial ideas out and visualize what I can develop digitally later. Then I gather references and iterate between paper and digital to refine the concept.
Q. How long did it take to develop the overall Medley visual universe?
A. Well then! I really wouldn’t be able to quantify the overall project; more than a year after having started it with the identity and the first labels.
🤝 Collaboration with the brand
Q. How was the collaboration with Medley's team? Was the brief strict or flexible?
A. Despite the time difference between Seoul and Toulouse, communication was always smooth. The brief was clear, and we resolved any obstacles immediately. Medley trusted me from the start, which made the creative process very enjoyable.
Q. Was there a key moment when you felt “this is the right direction” for the visual identity?
A. Honestly, no specific moment comes to mind. The direction emerged naturally over the project period.
Q. Did you have to adapt your usual style to fit the brand’s DNA? Or does Medley’s visual universe align with your own style?
A. Lettering is my specialty, so developing the logo was my comfort zone. But the label illustrations pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I really enjoyed that challenge.
💬 Feedback & Lessons Learned
Q. What feedback did you receive from the brand, public, or fellow creatives?
A. Feedback was very positive. The idea of a project linking Seoul and Toulouse already had charm, and applying the illustrations to actual perfume bottles gave them more visual impact.
Q. What would you like people to feel or think when discovering Medley’s visual universe?
A. I hope each universe is clear without needing to read the perfume’s name. Globally, I hope that when all perfumes are placed together, Medley’s fresh and original world becomes apparent.
Q. If you had to describe Medley’s visual universe in three words, what would they be?
A. Funky, Popular, Joyful.
🎁 Bonus & Anecdotes
Q. Are there hidden details in the logo or labels that few people notice?
A. Not really. The goal was to synthesize each musical style in a very simple form, leaving little room for hidden elements (at least that’s what I like to make you believe!).
Q. What did this project teach you or allow you to develop in your lettering and art direction work?
A. A memorable anecdote for me was designing labels in a language I didn’t understand. It was both fun and slightly confusing, and it reminded me how crucial communication is for success.
Q. Are there music styles you’d like to explore in future projects?
A. Funk. It’s visually rich and appealing. After creating six labels, each future perfume will be a new challenge.
