Our Design and Strategy Master's class collaborated directly with Moleskine's International Heads of Marketing, Product, and Innovation to explore Gen Z's perceptions, needs, and expectations of the Moleskine brand and its product offerings. The objective was to deeply understand this emerging demographic and propose innovative, tailored solutions that resonate with Gen Z's values and preferences, ensuring Moleskine remains relevant and appealing to this key market.
Duration
2 months
Location
Milan, Italy
HQ: Milan, Italy
Co-creators
Eleonora Ciardiello
Sunjukta Nallamuthu
Strategy and direction
Through our user research, we identified a fundamental disconnect between Gen-Z and Moleskine's brand identity. While Moleskine has traditionally aligned itself with iconic creatives such as Picasso and Hemingway, celebrating a rich heritage of excellence, this focus on history and mastery creates barriers for Gen-Z. Growing up in the Digital Age, Gen-Z is accustomed to a culture of continuous editing and refinement, fostering a strong expectation of perfection. When combined with Moleskine's association with "creative masters," the brand can feel intimidating, especially given its premium price point relative to other analog options.
To resonate with Gen-Z, we needed to reframe Moleskine as a tool that encourages growth through imperfection, helping to relieve the pressures of perceived perfection and allow users to gain enough healthy "ego" to work towards mastery. This led to a strategy centered around the concept of a “Gym of Mistakes,” positioning Moleskine as a space for Gen-Z to embrace and celebrate mistakes as part of their creative journey. This direction not only makes Moleskine more approachable but also supports a healthier creative process for this generation.
Prompt book
The Moleskine Prompt Book is designed as an entry-level product to introduce Gen-Z to the Moleskine brand by helping them build creative confidence and ease into using analog tools. Made from Moleskine’s more affordable cahier material, the Prompt Book is both accessible and approachable—qualities that resonate strongly with Gen-Z.
The Prompt Book opens with a cover page that gamifies the experience, allowing users to track their progress, set completion rewards, and build streaks through daily use. The following 30 pages feature curated prompts designed as “creative exercises,” guiding users through their creative journey much like a personal trainer would for a beginner in the gym. As a reward for completion and incentive to dive deeper into the Moleskine world, in the final page, a QR code becomes revealed as you use the stickers to track your streak,
To launch the Prompt Book, we proposed a holiday gifting campaign. Research shows that many first-time Moleskine users receive their notebooks as gifts, so this strategy will capitalize on that insight and make the Prompt Book an ideal, accessible introduction to the brand.
Kit Book
The Moleskine Kit Book is designed as the next step in engaging Gen-Z, offering a structured yet flexible space to freely develop their creative skills. Crafted from Moleskine’s accessible cahier material, the Kit Book features two distinct sections—one for practice, drafts, and "mistake making," and the other for polished, final work. This dual structure also allows users to designate one section for work and the other for play, encouraging a balanced and exploratory approach to creativity.
Inside the cover, there are pockets for loose papers and a dedicated slot for Moleskine’s Blackwing pencil, providing users with an introduction to Moleskine’s broader product range. In the back pocket, a QR code offers a discount on future purchases of a classic notebook or writing utensil, encouraging deeper engagement with Moleskine’s product line. This approach not only supports Gen-Z’s creative journey but also fosters brand loyalty and continued exploration of the Moleskine portfolio.
Moleskine MeMBerSHip
Simple yet important, we proposed a membership structure within the brand as it was currently nonexistent. Most brands have membership portals with different rewards and perks to incentivize brand loyalty which can be a pivotal point in someone adopting a brand and their products. This fidelity is key, especially in Moleskine's case, as their biggest differentiator against their competitors is their brand and heritage.
Moleskine Medal
After engaging Gen-Z with Moleskine products, we wanted to provide both new and existing customers a way to celebrate and personalize their Moleskine experience. The Moleskine Medal serves two main purposes:
First, it incentivizes the use of multiple notebooks by allowing users to clip together two notebooks of different styles, maintaining a thematic separation between “perfect” and “imperfect” or between purposes such as work vs. play or quick notes vs. journal entries. This simple yet elegant tool reinforces the idea of organized creativity and dual-purpose use.
Second, the Moleskine Medal is a way to honor and commemorate the completion of a notebook. While Moleskine’s iconic minimalist design is timeless, it can be challenging for users who collect and preserve multiple notebooks to easily differentiate them. The Medal not only celebrates each completed notebook but also helps users track the purpose, timeline, and context of each one, adding personal significance to their collection.
