HO-use evolves contact lens brand moody over five years of restraint

Two circles collide in the moody logo, forming a pair of eyes. It’s a small visual idea with an outsized shelf life. Over nearly five years, Ivory Ho, Founder & Art Director of Shanghai and Taipei-based HO-use, has steered the contact lens brand through three distinct evolutionary phases, each one deepening the identity without changing that original mark. The logo stays the same. Everything around it grows up. The brand’s early phase tackled the basics: establishing credibility within the contact lens category. moody’s identity was anchored by three keywords, comfort, colour and fun, though Ho found these terms too abstract to guide consistent decision-making. ‘Fun’ had been expressed through the staggered ‘oo’ in the logotype. ‘Colour’ was interpreted as a literal rainbow palette. The lack of a precise definition made internal consensus difficult, so the first transformation focused on building a signature colour system. That system streamlined the design team’s workflow and gave consumers something recognisable to hold onto. Once the colour language reached full integration across product and marketing, Ho shifted focus toward what she calls “infusing the soul.” This second phase moved moody from a well-designed product into something closer to a resonant brand, guided by the philosophy ‘Daily, but not ordinary. Simple, but never dull.’ If moody were a person, Ho suggests, it would be someone who seeks small moments of the extraordinary within ordinary life, someone who might choose coloured contact lenses to accentuate their features as a quiet, personal act of self-expression.