What has nine teeth, pointy ears, a round face, and screams ugly-cute? A Labubu! If you guessed it right away, it only means one thing: Labubu has nailed branding like a pro.
What Is a Labubu? The Story You Might Not Know
Kasing Lung, the man responsible for the Labubu craze, would have never, in his wildest dreams, expected the doll to take the world by storm with its ugly-cute feel. Born in 2015, the doll stayed dormant for 10 years, only to rise overnight.
The infamous devilish Labubu doll is part of a clan of whimsical creatures-yes, you read that right-there’s more where Labubu came from. The creatures are inspired by Nordic fairy tales and include characters like Spooky, Pato, Tycoco, and more.
But the crowd favorite is, of course, the slightly creepy but fluffy Labubu. Behind the mischievous grin is a whole lot of personality. Labubu, despite being part of the Monsters clan, gives the main character energy.
She is a lovable trickster with a heart of gold. Despite playing pranks all around, Labubu always has the best intentions at heart. Surprisingly, this might sting the singles reading this, but a lesser-known fact is that Labubu even has a love interest. Tycoco, with its shy and gentle personality, is the perfect fit for the energy ball Labubu is.
Okay, Great, But Why Is Labubu Everywhere?
Labubu began her journey to fame clinging on to Lisa’s luxury handbag in April. The Blackpink artist posted an Instagram story with a humongous Labubu plush toy and was also later seen accessorizing her bag with a Labubu charm. And that was it. Fans went crazy.
Source: Instagram.com/lalalalisa_m
With this exposure, Labubu wasn’t just a weird-looking toy anymore. It became a fashion statement. Anyone in the fashion world who loves to follow trends started featuring Labubus all over their Instagram accounts. And I don’t mean random influencers, Queen Riri, Dua Lipa, and even David Beckham have taken to Instagram to show off their Labubus.
Source: Instagram.com
Yes, Beckham. That’s why this article is called Brand It Like Labubu, cause wouldn’t we all like to bend it like Beckham. On that note, the reason why you have been seeing Labubu everywhere is because of its strategic marketing.
Let’s take a closer look at the branding genius of Labubu.
The Labubu Effect: How Emotion, Storytelling, and Design Have Sparked a Global Craze
If you think Labubu struck gold and got lucky, you’re just as mistaken as we were. Upon closely observing the Labubu craze, the answer to its fame is simple: strategic planning, timely intervention, and a design made for virality.
Let’s unpack the Labubu effect:
1. Emotional Design
Saying that Labubu is cute might not be entirely true. Cute toys get attention, but not as much as Labubu. This is because of its ugly-cute design. The doll is soft but chaotic, and the mischievous, chaotic energy is oddly very comforting for the Labubu patrons.
When you look at a Labubu, you won’t know how to feel. It may be cute one moment and demonic the next-there’s simply no in-between. And that’s how they cracked it. The design is made to make you feel. But what you feel depends on you.
This is a great branding lesson right here. Perfect-looking toys come and go, but a toy that gives you cute aggression and goosebumps simultaneously is what stays. When designing a logo for your brand, you may want to chase perfection, but if you learn anything from Labubu is that people don’t always rely on perfection.
2. The Story
If there’s something humans love, then it’s a good story, and Labubu gives us exactly that. Kasing Lung has got the world wondering where Labubu came from. Pop Mart creatively adopted a storytelling strategy where they gave each Labubu release a unique backstory. Come to think of it, people are not just buying a toy but they are also buying the backstory that comes with it.
This has built an emotional connection between the dolls and people who relate to the individual back stories. And it doesn’t stop there. The rich lore has created a Labubu universe that people can enter when they buy the doll.
Branding is incomplete if there’s no story to tell. When characters have a story, people will create their own and engage with everything on brand. That’s what you need to accomplish when choosing a mascot for your brand logo think about why it even relates to your brand and how others can relate to it.
3. Visual Identity
Just like Mickey’s ears, the big eyes, toothy grin, and devilish look are a tell-tale sign of the Labubu. It is definitely a masterclass in brand recognition. The proof of Labubu’s global success is that you can spot one from miles away.
Using ‘baby schema’ features, the brand has been able to tap into the universal human response that makes us find it cute. And it works? They even have research on it! Take this one, for example: Isn’t It Cute?
And to maintain consistency, the Labubu never changes shape. All fundamental design elements remain the same making it recognizable no matter the size, theme or material. So without losing its core identity, Pop Mart has been able to market and hype up Labubu enough for people to remember it years from now.
Labubu’s visual identity is iconic. It rules the meme world with its strange but relatable look, giving you more to learn from. If your design is also as memorable as Labubu’s, then you’ve made it!
4. Brand Archetype
As Labubu has a playful nature, it represents the Jester brand archetype along with notes of Innocent and the Explorer. Each of these brand archetypes come together and simply work. They perfectly align with the brand’s business model and the target audience.
The main archetype is the Jester, which has made the Labubu brand addictive. The adrenaline rush from blind boxes to the unique and playful design, Labubu has unlocked its virality factor, making it famous world wide.
As for the supportive brand archetypes, they have helped the character build community and engage with people on a more personal journey. It is very interesting to see the archetypes of logo design in action!
5. Strategic Hype
How did Labubu do it? How did it get SO popular? The answer lies in its strategy. The hype is a result of a delicious recipe with ingredients such as consumer psychology, scarcity and pop-culture.
We all love a good surprise, even if it comes from a blind box with a Labubu inside. Using the thrill of anticipation, marketers of Labubu have gamified the purchase process, which triggers a dopamine rush, not knowing what they will get from the box.
It also expertly explored the unboxing ritual we find all over social media. Many of us are guilty of watching countless hours of unboxing videos, even though we never get anything out of them, except a dopamine rush. And that’s what you should chase when it comes to branding.
This was followed by the big question mark that not everyone will be able to unbox their own Labubu. Scarcity is what made Labubu even more desirable. With its limited edition drops and secret figures, the brand was able to start a rat race to see who gets the best, rarest, and most Labubus.
Last came the biggest push from celebrities. Lisa of Blackpink began the domino chain, which was followed by celebrities from all corners of the world. And that’s it, Labubu was famous.
The Anatomy of Labubu – Why Does the Design Simply Work?
The Labubu is distinct, and that’s why it sells. Do you want to dissect the anatomy and see why the design simply works?
Key Design Elements
Each toy or character is a combination of different features that come together to build a unique persona. Here are some of the most distinct Labubu features:
1. Toothy Grin
With exactly nine sharp teeth, the Labubu doll looks mischievous and troubled. This feature is the most significant physical representation of Labubu’s rebellious personality.
2. Large Eyes
On the contrary, the large doe eyes represent innocence. This is what I meant when I said baby schema features. These eyes add a cute element to the character, owing to the ‘cute’ in the cute-ugly vibe.
3. Fluffy Round Body
Most of our teddies have soft, huggable bodies, and Labubus have the same. The fluffy, round bodies make the characters look lovable and remind us of our comfort plushies from when we were younger.
4. Elf-Like Ears
The elf-like pointed ears reflect the Nordic mythical origins. This unworldly feature represents that the Labubu is strange, unique, and not among us.
5. Up To Something Eyebrows (or ridges)
To give the furrowed, up to something look, the designer has used ridges in the place of eyebrows. These ridges have animated the Labubu and can also make you feel creeped out if you stare at one for too long.
What Can Logo Designers Learn from Labubu Design?
Logo designers are always looking at different brands to see what they can learn from them. Here are some solid lessons you can learn from the Labubu design.
Lesson 1: Don’t Chase Perfection
Labubu is far from perfect. The asymmetrical hand-drawn design is both shocking and relatable. With the ugly-cute aesthetic, Labubu is a great example of how both can exist in one viral doll.
As a designer, the idea is not to chase perfection but to come up with a design that has a personality you could sell. Generic and too polished designs may not yield the results you’re looking for.
Lesson 2: Tell a Story
It is not just a doll, a bag charm, or a character; Labubu is all of those things and more. That’s what storytelling can do. You can’t just look at a Labubu and box it in one category. With effective storytelling, Labubus has carved a space for themselves where they feel alive and dynamic to the consumers and other onlookers.
For your next logo design, don’t fixate on an icon but the story behind it. Come up with a design that presents a rich character and can lead your brand.
Lesson 3: Aim for Distinctiveness
Every iconic brand has an iconic logo that is true to their brand. Like the key distinct features of the Labubu, your brand must have some truly unique features that set you apart from the crowd. Details can make all the difference so, focus on a design element that screams your brand’s name without the wordmark.
Lesson 4: Adaptability Works Wonders
One of the biggest reasons we see Labubu everywhere is its versatility. The design is super adaptable and can be made into anything, from toys to bag charms to phone covers and the list never really ends. That’s what I call a genius design.
Much like Labubu, your logo design should be scalable and consistent no matter what platform or medium. It is best to try and fix and try again until you get a design that looks good everywhere. This way, people will spread the word for you by sharing your design on their socials just because they love it!
If Labubu Were a Logo – DesignMantic Gives It a Go
We couldn’t hold back, and we had to create a logo for the Labubu dolls to see what it would look like.
Here’s what we imagine the Labubu logo would look like:
– Font
When brainstorming about the font, we thought that going for a too-perfect, high-fashion font wouldn’t cut it. The typeface for the logo should feel like the dolls themselves imperfect. I’m thinking, messy, charming, and a little wiggly.
My top picks would be:
– Color Palette
Labubu is out of the ordinary and breaks the status quo for dolls, so it is only fair that the logo colors represent that. After digging into the psychology of logo colors, we have some in mind. Let us know if you see where we are going with these.
- Burnt Orange
- Sage Green
- Pale Mint
- Faded Lilac
- Neon Lime
– Mascot
We had to think long and hard about the perfect mascot for Labubu, and it dawned on me-why not take inspiration from the doll itself? It’s iconic, recognizable, and resonates with the fans. But, instead of using the full doll, I think extracting key visual elements would be a better idea.
Here’s what we have come up with.
Elf Ears
Long, pointy ears on the woodmark. These ears are a distinct and most whimsical feature of the Labubu.
Smile/Teeth
A long, creepy smile with nine teeth to be exact can be a great way to hint at the Labubu dolls without cluttering the logo.
Silhouette
The head shape of the Labubu is very unique, and to make use of it, we can use the outline form with the wordmark beside it.
Eyes
The round eyes have the Labubu story written all over them. To give life to the logo, we can use the eye outline and create an emotional link.
So what do you think? Are we heading in the right direction or just humoring myself? we think the Labubu logo should be as distinct as the dolls, full of personality, story, and a hint of evil.
Labubu or Boo-Hoo – The Choice Is Yours!
Are you praying to the Gods of branding to give your brand the same success they gave Labubu? Well, for that, you must put in effort yourself. This article gives you all the insights you need to create a logo that shares the same virality and uniqueness as the cookie-crazy-looking dolls with hundreds standing in line to get their hands on one. So, are you going to use these lessons and come up with a unique design or not? The choice is entirely yours.
Want to start working on your logo right away? A logo creator can get you going. Hurry before the Labubu trend moves on to something new!
Bonus: Labubu Memes We Love
