Hackathons and computer science aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think of beauty brands—but that’s the whole point.
When Jay Hack and Brandon Garcia launched Mira Beauty, they wanted to offer an all-new way to experience the category, with inclusivity at the forefront.
The roots of Mira Beauty go back to Hack and Garcia’s time studying AI and computer science at Stanford, where Hack used his skills in data mining to help a Singaporean friend match products to her features.
Next, as Mira details, Hack and Garcia “quickly realized that there was no place for beauty novices, enthusiasts, or even experts to access unbiased reviews and honest answers about makeup and skincare products, the world over. So they built it.”
Founded in 2017 and launched in 2018, Mira collates reviews from across the web into a single location, and offers a community space for people to engage in dialogue around the products. Mira’s app, meanwhile, utilizes AI to create custom recommendations for each user based on their skin tone and other factors.
Upon launch, the brand’s multicolored logo was playful, approachable and felt at home with apps of its generation—but it didn’t fully sync with the category.
Now, Mira and The Pioneers have radically redesigned the brand’s identity.
“We knew the old branding wasn’t doing justice to our technology’s level of sophistication, but the element déclencheur for a more thorough rebrand was data,” says Mira CMO Benjamin Lord. “The beauty community is our true north, and our goal was to meet their standards of taste, quality and inclusivity. Together with The Pioneers, we elevated the digital experience through a logo-leaning, streetwise and emblematic aesthetic that also lends itself to a monogram print and future 3D applications."
Here’s more about the mark, from Mira:
Designed to act as an emblem for the brand, the monogram’s emotional territory is rich.
—The mirroring effect of the monogram represents the act of seeing oneself through someone else's experience. The name “Mira Beauty” comes from mirror and the Spanish imperative for “look” (¡Mira!)
—The ‘M’ represents the initial of the brand. Additionally, the juxtaposition of ‘M’s and reversed ‘M’s, read as ‘W’s, is designed to break gender stereotypes.
—The symmetrical aspect of the monogram represents inclusivity—four separate sets coming together in a cohesive manner, to form a supportive community.
—The boldness of the fonts represent self-confidence.
As the company continues to grow, the identity will as well, appearing on merchandise, gifts, and more touchpoints. Find more about Mira here.