Modal is Best Buy’s newest private brand – a line of phone and tablet cases, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and other mobile accessories. It lets consumers create their own solutions by inviting mix-and-match modularity in Best Buy stores. Modal is a celebration of freedom of choice.

Modal’s packaging and graphics are the brand’s first touchpoint, designed to be just as compelling and flexible as the products they contain. Transparent and easy to open, each package invites people to see and get their hands on Modal products right in the store, reinforcing Modal as a flexible, high value brand for Best Buy.

Introducing a new private brand is inherently risky, so Best Buy wanted assurance it was making a smart, strategic move. Underlying this was a challenge to communicate Modal’s brand attributes of modularity, fun and flexibility, through the packaging and graphics as well as the products.

Functionally, the packaging had to prevent shipping damages and contain costs, while considering environmental impact and merchandising potential. We learned early on that the Modal strategic target – a choice-sensitive consumer called the Move Maker – expected a tactile experience of the products, so the packaging had to make the product easily accessible.

After developing the brand strategy, designing Modal’s products and packaging in parallel presented additional challenges. Any adjustment in product size, configuration or function impacted packaging and graphic requirements, and without the name recognition of a well-known national brand, each product needed to speak for itself.

Starting with a comprehensive, detailed audit of Best Buy’s existing private brands let us understand the purpose of each brand and informed what was needed. It quickly became clear that Best Buy had no clearly defined target consumers. Our intention was to carefully target these consumers, and bring their perspectives to bear on Modal’s packaging and graphics.

Part of our job was to convince Best Buy that their consumer base is less interested in large systems, and that requires staying consistent across touchpoints and relevant to trends. No one wants electronics accessories that don’t speak to their needs anymore, and a brand without well-considered packaging would find it hard to stand up to its competition. Best Buy isn’t alone in these issues: mobility, customization and personalization are growing trends that many brands and retailers are having trouble delivering on.

Developing Modal’s logo and graphics while designing its packaging allowed for increased consistency across touchpoints. Key themes like modularity, interoperability (and fun!) informed the Modal logo, leading it to be highly flexible, customizable and interchangeable. Based on a grid system, the logo is an icon for modularity. It also lends itself to being knocked out, so it can become a frame for displaying ads or online banners.

Modal’s packaging follows the same conventions of modularity. Whether a sleeve for a tablet case or a container for a speaker, each package is based on the same divided grid, unified by rounded corners and framing. Modal graphics extend to merchandising and in-store retail fixtures, like endcaps and shelf takeovers. Designing the packages from the same modular grid system as the products themselves means they look great mixed and matched together on the shelf, or even a shipping pallet.

The transparency and modularity of Modal’s packaging exposes and celebrates the products, highlighting how the various accessories work together, and keeping colors, materials and finishes front and center. Our research showed that the feel, fit and finish of the product is critically important to the Move Maker, so each package is designed to be easily opened in the store for closer inspection.

Modal’s packaging isn’t just about giving target consumers the experience they want; it’s also designed to be easily recyclable. Many of the containers can also be reused or repurposed, giving them a second life for the purchaser. Modular designs with no toxic glues make the packages simple to take apart, and materials easy to separate. Recyclable cardboard inserts offer impact protection for products while providing elegant, out-of-sight stowage space for manuals and cables.

This combination of features was only possible through a unique interdisciplinary approach, with product and communication designers working side by side, to deliver an experience that welcomes mobility, personalization and freedom of choice.

Beyond the packages themselves, we also delivered comprehensive design guidelines and reference designs for Modal. Best Buy is now equipped and ready to continue exciting the Move Makers and delivering on their needs and even extend their gained knowledge to their other private brands. With Modal’s holistic brand touchpoints, Best Buy has the advantage they need to not only stave off showrooming but also bring new meaning and value to in-store retail experiences.