Forged
Creating Brand Loyalty in a Fragmented Category
How a thoughtful system of three products gives 4C hair users a foundation they can trust and build from.
Consumer
4C haircare is one of the most underserved spaces in beauty. Despite its complexity, the market is crowded with oversized product kits, generic packaging, and confusing routines that make daily styling feel overwhelming. Users are left without clarity, guidance, or dependable tools.
Forged is a modular system of three essential products: a leave-in cream, hair oil, and styling gel, designed specifically for the daily needs of 4C hair. Each product features an intentionally tailored dispensing mechanism, nested ergonomic forms, and a brand identity built entirely around 4C shape language. The system is designed to grow with the user, starting with the three core essentials and expanding as their routine evolves.
The 4C haircare market is oversaturated with products that demand knowledge most users have to acquire on their own, through years of trial and error or information passed down through family. No brand had established real loyalty in this space.
The team began with ethnographic research and user interviews that revealed a consistent truth: 4C hair care is not just a personal routine, it is a social experience that can take hours. By distilling the market to three essential products and engineering each dispensing mechanism specifically for its use case, the system eliminates friction at every touchpoint.
Forged was presented to a jury that included a panel judge from Procter & Gamble and members from the Packaging Corporation of America. The work is currently being prepared for IDSA IDEA Award submission in the student category, with university support in process.
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