SUMMER
FRIDAYS
REFINED, ELEVATED, READY FOR THE WORLD
Summer Fridays, a beauty brand founded by Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland, began its journey with the launch of the signature Jet Lag Mask exclusively at Sephora. Originally a viral sensation, since its debut in 2018, the brand rapidly scaled, reaching over $200 million in sales and achieving a valuation well beyond that figure. As new potential investors circled and the customer base matured, Summer Fridays found itself in need of a reimagined brand identity to support its next stage towards global expansion.
In 2024, the brand approached David and his team with a bold brief that reflected their ambitious vision. The goal was to preserve the brand’s strong presence on TikTok while simultaneously evolving its aesthetic to appeal to a more sophisticated and mature audience. The refresh would encompass a complete overhaul of Summer Fridays’ design, art direction, and overall brand aesthetic, ensuring alignment with their expanded investor vision.
The project called for an updated design aesthetic that balanced youthful energy with a more elevated, refined style. The packaging was completely refreshed, introducing a new color system to enhance the brand’s visual appeal which had prior been called too “candy shop” . The art direction was reimagined with a more sophisticated tone, supported by updated campaign imagery, new taglines, and revised copy guidelines to reflect the brand’s growth. The brand’s presence in Sephora was redefined with new visual merchandising displays, while influencer gifting and shipping boxes were redesigned to enhance customer experience. To complement these efforts, Summer Fridays partnered with King and Partners to develop a new e-commerce site, providing strategic direction and creative support.
This extensive redesign was not just about aesthetics; it was about positioning Summer Fridays as a globally recognized beauty brand that remained true to its roots while stepping confidently into a new chapter of growth and success.
Brand Evolution and Guidelines
Graphic Design
Art Direction
Style Guide
Packaging Design
Retail Design
Campaign Creation
SGC TEAM:
David Boxser
Alex Bones
Stuart Hall
Alex Molyneux
PARTNERS:
Work by Holiday
Amanda Charchian
Alex Kenealy
Rapid Outform
King & Partners
Summer Fridays Marketing Team
“SG Cartel was a joy to work with on the Summer Fridays brand refresh and packaging update. Their strategic approach, thoughtful stakeholder sessions, and sharp design perspective elevated the brand in a way that felt both fresh and quickly resonated with the brand’s existing audience.”
Blair Badge
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING
CALIFORNIA RIVIERA - BUILDING A BRAND WORLD
SG Cartel played the pivotal role in evolving Summer Fridays' brand design by introducing a new creative philosophy and “brand world” we christened “California Riviera.” This concept blended the timeless sophistication of the French Riviera with the laid-back, sun-soaked charm of California chic, creating a world that exists in the collective psyche. It’s a pastiche of elegance and ease, seamlessly merging the best of Europe and Southern California. Through this vision, we shaped the design, color palette, and art direction to articulate an aspirational world that felt both refined, considered and yet, effortless.
The typography was refined with the introduction of Futura, offering a more simplified and contemporary feel, complemented by a tighter, more cohesive logo treatment. To further capture the essence of the brand, we introduced a secondary wordmark, “L’Été Éternel,” meaning Endless Summer, paired with the elegant Pinyon typeface. This new wordmark helped reinforce the brand’s timeless and aspirational ethos. The expanded color palette was crafted not only to support packaging design and category expansion, but also to extend into secondary and tertiary brand colors, creating a more cohesive visual identity across all touchpoints.
New brand elements, such as towel stripes and playful icons, were introduced to bring a sense of whimsy and warmth while maintaining the refined aesthetic. Additionally, a flexible brand tagline was developed, consisting of interchangeable parts that could be adapted across multiple product categories, ensuring the brand's message remained consistent yet dynamic.
This evolution of Summer Fridays’ brand design, art direction, and copy was about maturing the brand’s identity to resonate with a growing audience while maintaining the aspirational and effortless charm that made the brand so beloved in the first place.
BRINGING CALIFORNIA RIVIERA TO LIFE
To debut our new Art Direction and California Riviera aesthetic, SGC and Summer Fridays embarked on an unforgettable journey to Cuixmala, Mexico. Collaborating with celebrated photographer Amanda Charchian and model Alana Felisberto, we captured the essence of the Jet Lag Mist campaign—the latest addition to the Jet Lag regimen series and a cornerstone of the Summer Fridays product range.
Led in-house by SGC’s David and Alex as supporting creative directors, the four-day shoot brought together every element of the campaign. From conceptualization to media planning, casting, shot lists, art buying, and overall creative direction, every detail was meticulously crafted.
The stunning imagery and video premiered in October 2024, making their mark across OOH, social platforms, and Sephora stores worldwide. The campaign’s impact was unmissable, with visuals soaring above the Sunset Strip, Times Square, Toronto, and even the London Underground.
FROM CANDY SHOP TO COHESION
Summer Fridays approached us to refine their packaging strategy, moving away from a color palette that had been chosen organically without a clear structure. While this freeform approach was common in a brand’s early years, their rapid growth and category expansion called for a more intentional and sophisticated design system. Internally, the team felt their existing colors gave off a “candy shop” aesthetic that no longer resonated with their evolving customer base.
A key priority was establishing Jet Lag Blue as a signature brand color while introducing a secondary and tertiary palette that added vibrancy without sacrificing cohesion. At the same time, rising concerns over dupes meant that while the packaging needed an update, it had to retain enough familiarity to maintain brand recognition and legal protection.
Working within existing templates and alongside packaging suppliers, we removed the inconsistent white borders on select products and expanded Jet Lag Blue into a flexible color family to create continuity across categories. Subtle California Riviera influences, such as delicate stripes and a refined citrus orange accent, were woven into the design to evoke warmth and sophistication. To further unify the brand’s visual language, Été Éternel was embossed across each SKU, adding a signature detail that reinforced Summer Fridays’ identity.
Set to roll out in 2025, the refreshed packaging will debut with the sun care line and Jet Lag Eye Patches, marking the first step in a packaging evolution that blends intentionality with brand heritage.
RETAIL CONCEPTING & SUPPORT
As an exclusive Sephora partner, Summer Fridays needed to stand out in a competitive, multi-brand retail environment. Until now, they had relied on Sephora’s off-the-shelf visual merchandising solutions, but with upcoming facelifts across their retail footprint, they saw an opportunity to refine and elevate their in-store presence—despite tight budgets.
SGC collaborated closely with the Summer Fridays marketing team, Sephora, and fabrication partner Rapid Outform to enhance their visual merchandising. We provided strategic recommendations on textures, materials, signage, and form factors to guide Outform’s execution. Our work also included insights on backstock placement and 3D renders to ensure precise sizing.
As Outform took the lead on fabrication, we remained embedded in the process—acting as an extension of the Summer Fridays creative team. The result? A sophisticated, minimalist yet elevated in-store presence, featuring 8-shelf, 4-shelf, and end-cap units that align with the brand’s evolution. Launching in Sephora in late fall 2024, this refresh helps Summer Fridays maintain a strong and cohesive retail presence.
