NAZA

MEET THE CLIENT

A revolutionary beauty startup that’s centering and celebrating Black and brown womanhood.

**THE ASK**
I was approached by the Founder & CEO, Natanya Montgomery, in the early stages of the venture-backed company to be the Creative Lead for the brand. As a Black woman myself, I understood both the nuances and the potential of a high-quality brand catering to those with coily, kinky, and afro-textured hair since we often get overlooked and underserved in the US haircare market. My work involved building a unique brand identity for Naza through both a strategic and creative lens over the course of 1.5 years to launch day.
**DELIVERABLES**
Branding
**MY ROLE(S)**
Creative strategy/research, brand identity (logo, color palette, typography, style guide), social strategy, copywriting, photography, videography, print & digital design, UI/UX frameworks

CREATIVE STRATEGY & RESEARCH

Today, highly textured, coily hair is perceived as “difficult” to care for, both outside and within the Black community. Most hair salons do not cater to this hair type for a myriad of reasons, such as the lack of textured hair training in beauty schools, as well as the lack of investment in product development for this hair type. Ironically, Black women spend upwards of 9x the amount on their hair than their White women counterparts which makes this gap in the market both highly problematic and highly profitable. If you do have afro-textured hair, the only salons that know and cater to your hair texture are Black-owned salons. However, it’s well-known that going to these salons (if you can find one in the first place) is too often an unpleasant experience. The typical paint points you will face: long wait times, appointments dragging on all day, overworked and unsatisfied stylists, unwelcoming interior design, and ambiguous pricing structures. This is where Naza changes everything for the better.