Conveying ByteDance’s Corporate Values Through Scent
Have you ever considered how to transform abstract brand values into something tangible and sensory? In 2024, Hei helped ByteDance achieve exactly that—translating the company’s values and six core cultural principles into a collection of distinctive scents.
From early-stage brand immersion and fragrance market research to narrative development, visual design, and product design, we created a bespoke fragrance line tailored exclusively for ByteDance. The collection includes scented candles, holiday gift sets, and a range of home fragrance products. Now launched on ByteDance’s internal marketplace, these products have received enthusiastic feedback from employees.
The greatest challenge in turning abstract values into tangible fragrance products was identifying the scents that could authentically embody ByteDance’s corporate spirit. After an in-depth exploration of ByteDance’s brand culture and extensive research into popular fragrance profiles, we found that the value ByteDance holds most dear—creativity—resonates deeply with the vibrant, upward, and diverse energy found in nature.
Our goal was to use natural scents to spark employees’ imagination and evoke a sense of creative inspiration.
Linking corporate culture to the essence of nature required extensive time spent studying fragrance theory, including collaborating with one of Japan’s most renowned perfumery studios to precisely define the scent profiles and materials. This process also demanded structured creative thinking: why and how can the scent of nature inspire creativity? We answered this through a blend of narrative storytelling, visual communication, scientific research, and real-life insights—successfully presenting a compelling story about how nature fuels inspiration and drives innovation.
The second major challenge in crafting high-end products was translating creative concepts into visual language. We drew upon a rich array of visual elements from nature, integrating them with ByteDance’s brand identity and the tactile considerations of the final product. This led to the creation of a comprehensive “visual library” for the fragrance line—spanning 2D to 3D, digital to physical applications.
These elements were thoughtfully embedded across product designs, enhancing the sensory experience. From imagery to scent to texture, the entire journey invites ByteDance employees into an immersive olfactory world that’s uniquely their own—where creativity is sparked and expressed.
Beyond the fragrance project, we continue to support ByteDance with a range of offline activations and custom gifting initiatives. These include—but are not limited to—original design and production of ByteDance-branded merchandise, global gift box campaigns, and the planning and execution of offline pop-up experiences.
In a world saturated with digital content, we believe it’s the physical touchpoints and everyday moments of interaction that truly bring a brand’s culture to life. We look forward to many more inspiring projects with ByteDance in the future.
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