Developing the next generation of the IDC®Power harness, Julius-K9’s flagship product and rethinking the future of Julius-K9® brand.
JK9®Street Harness project was both a Brand strategy and a Product Design project. Our mission was to develop the next generation of Julius-K9’s flagship product, the IDC®Power harness and define a long term strategy to renew the Julius-K9® brand. The result become the first harness developed 100% specialised for urban use in the history of JK9.
During UX and Market Research we identified 2 key changes and long term trends on the market:
1. Dog harness users became incredibly design conscious. Self expression, story telling, and user experience became as important as in tech or car industry. In addition to being durable and easy to use, they seek for depth and complexity. For Generation Y and Z, use should be a next level experience.
2. The market of dog harnesses have become oversaturated and there is an enormous noise of very similar products. Most harnesses are for universal use (so as Julius-K9’s flagship harness) and competition became too direct.
We discovered that even though the use of dog harnesses for urban or daily walking affects 80% of the market, yet none of the market players defined the product category of urban harnesses before. Cities are not designed for dogs, yet no one has ever designed a dog harness that is specifically made for urban safety and comfort.
Cities quickly became the most important area for us and we started focusing on urban dog keepers especially from Z and Y generations where owners tend to value more user experience, design quality and brand story when it comes to dog products.
We created a new, colourful, energetic, urban story about dog keeping. A reflection of a special fellowship of dogs and humans in this intense bustling environment. Once we had our urban story line, we defined how to tell that story through a physical product.
We created a new, colourful, energetic, urban story about dog keeping. A reflection of a special fellowship of dogs and humans in this intense bustling environment. Once we had our urban story line, we defined how to tell that story through a physical product.
