BRAND STRATEGY
+
PRODUCT DESIGN
Turning a marble supplier into a creative partner.
role
strategy, design, CMF, prototyping
client
Luce di Carrara
timeframe
6 weeks
We weren't asked to redefine the relationship. Our research suggested we should.
01.
identify
The brief was about more products.
Luce asked for a line of small marble objects to reach a wider audience. It was reasonable — more products, more buyers.
the obvious answer
Expand the product line and compete for more buyers.
Growth through volume would push the brand toward the broad / price end of the category.
the question we started with
Which relationship can Luce least afford to lose?
Growth through volume would push the brand toward the broad / price end of the category.
02.
research
brand
user
market
We approached the problem from 3 directions
Luce's real advantage was already there — living inside the material.
01 bespoke — responds to the project, not a fixed catalogue
02 human touch — every piece finished by hand
03 textures & form — a material language that's theirs alone
04 end-to-end mastery — one house, quarry to finished piece
What we saw:
The edge Luce can defend is craft and origin — not catalogue breadth.
Architects weren't just buying marble.
They were buying the experience & people behind it.
“After visiting Luce di Carrara, you don't just want the object — you want a piece of that place.”
Interior designer · Milan
“We don't choose brands only for products, but for the people behind them.”
Architect · Florence
What we saw:
The relationship carried more value than any product catalogue could hold.
The category was racing toward the wrong place.
what we saw:
their direct competitors were going toward broad and inexpensive while Luce's strongest value lived around bespoke relationships and material meaning.
Broad + inexpensive = increasingly crowded, and decreased perceived value
04.
the oppurtunity
Architects aren't a channel to the market. They are the market.
01 shift
from product
Ask what the object does for the relationship, not only what it does physically.
02 target
to architect
Focus on the person who can bring Luce into the project earlier.
03 role
to creative partner
Use tangible touchpoints to demonstrate capability, intent, and care.
04 result
to recurring relationship
Stay present beyond one transaction and seed the next collaboration.
05.
design
response
The objects became relationship tools.
Luce asked for a line of small marble objects to reach a wider audience. It was reasonable — more products, more buyers.
the obvious answer
the question we started with
acquisition
archè
a physical invitation sent after Salone del Mobile, in a world where everything digital, physical becomes intentional
retention
gesti minimi
a gift for the architects first completed project, and a small investment for Luce di Carrara to help build a strong partnership
five gestures to showcase Luce di Carrara's full capabilities
present on the architects desk, and inspiring their next project
drill
texture
carve
waterjet
slab
a solution that makes an impact
turning the architect relationship from just a client to a creative partner
architects journey before
Luce di Carrara enters
1
2
3
new client
plan project
select supplier
4
execute project
architects journey after
Luce di Carrara at the center of every step
1
new client
4
execute project
Luce di
Carrara
2
plan project
