Unfound Studio designs VJJ Health: the new cool aunty of women's wellness

Historically, women have suffered in silence when it comes to vaginal health, but thankfully that is starting to change as we enter a new era of wellness and self-care. This creates a space for new brands, like VJJ Health, to disrupt the stuffy shelves of old and help women look after themselves without shame or embarrassment.

VJJ is brand new to the market and was born after an honest and empowering conversation between mother and daughter Alison and Annabel. The pair went on to do comprehensive research into the power of a healthy and balanced vaginal microbiome and discovered a specific, good bacteria that maintains pH levels and protects women against infection.

The VJJ team then used these bacteria to develop products to better support vaginal health, with a series of probiotics that help treat thrush, bacterial vaginosis and UTIs, bringing Unfound Studio onboard to help position the innovative solutions and deliver a brand that could broadcast the science to help as many women as possible.

One of the first things Unfound noticed was that the legacy brands that dominate this space are prescription-based, built around a discrete proposition, or can only be found in pharmacies. However, the studio also came across several supplement brands that better position themselves as lifestyle choices.

Unfound Studio creative director Jay Topham says the key insight from all this was that "VJJ had to show up in a competitive, contemporary market where supplement choices directly align with wider lifestyle choices". The wellness space has grown exponentially over the last few years, with new social media trends and viral surfacing almost every day, from apple cider vinegar gummies to powdered greens.

Ultimately, VJJ offers deeply considered, science-backed products that women should be proud to use. Still, Topham and the design team questioned how medical they should feel and how aspirational they should be. "We believe you must start with a deep understanding of your audience and create something that meets them where they are at," he says.

"Today, women do not want health issues holding them back; they want to feel empowered by the knowledge that great wellness solutions can provide."

In addition, the studio had to navigate the complex restrictions in this category, from trading standards to meta restrictions. Both VJJ and Unfound wanted to project a bold tone of voice and powerful brand language. However, Topham says that getting through "the red tape of advertising standards and medical packaging can be a huge challenge".

VJJ's core principle is that it should not 'beat around the bush and that nothing is too much information in a bid to normalise taboos and talking about vaginas. For that reason, the brand refrains from using euphemisms.

"We pushed set advertising conventions by introducing an 'AKA' linguistic device on packaging copy that doesn't just list medical ingredient names but supply conversational context into what the ingredient actually does," Topham explains. VJJ also experiments with some risky humour, like on the landing page, which reads: 'Unlike your ex, we are experts in all things vagina'.

Topham adds that "a straight-talking, inclusive brand has to balance directness with familiarity", and so VJJ's brand identity includes cheeky call-to-action phrases like 'What's your number?' to encourage women to interact with the brand by checking vaginal pH levels. He believes this communication method is "miles away from awkward convos with doctors that are hard to relate to".

VJJ's brand was also built around the idea of 'science, shared' for which the Unfound team embodied their "inner Gillian Anderson" to help them communicate the facts without lecturing – a sort of "cool aunty" approach.

"VJJ brings science that works to its audience in a digestible way, giving them the time and space to make sense of it, benefit from it and pass it on," says Topham.

Unfound Studio brand designer Lauren Scarlett describes the logo as a "soft, bubble-esk" custom wordmark that is ownable, designed to stand the test of time, again helping the science-backed brand feel "approachable and fun for multiple generations". Like the brand messaging, the VJJ colour palette is bold and dynamic and was designed to be "energetic and instantly recognisable while remaining versatile enough to sit in the background and let the science do the talking," she explains.

For the typeface, Unfound opted for IvyPresto, which adds energy and sophistication in line with the 'cool aunty' persona, alongside the clean, contemporary Proxima Nova font.

The photography style celebrates the women that VJJ helps, foregrounding a diverse range of female users. "Vibrancy, warmth, and contrast are high to constantly reinforce the aspirational aspects of VJJ's products and their benefits," Scarlett adds.