When global beauty brand GHD partnered with fitness and lifestyle creator Pamela Reif to launch a limited-edition version of the Chronos™ Styler, the challenge was to create something that felt more than simply branded.
The product needed to reflect the exclusivity of the collaboration while maintaining GHD’s premium positioning. It needed to feel personal to Pamela’s audience, instantly recognisable and technically flawless across both the physical styling tool and its retail packaging.
To achieve this, GHD commissioned a bespoke illustration of Pamela Reif, created by our in-house beauty and fashion illustrator, Sally Faye. This artwork became the visual signature of the collaboration, appearing across the product itself and the wider packaging experience.
We sat down with Sally to explore the creative and technical process behind transforming an original illustration into a globally distributed beauty product.
Creating commercial illustration for a global beauty brand
Q: What was it like being asked to create artwork for a collaboration of this scale?
Sally: GHD is such an established name within the beauty industry, and Pamela has built an incredibly strong global presence. Being trusted to create the visual artwork that represented that collaboration was a huge opportunity.
The goal was to create something that felt premium, exclusive and collectible. It wasn’t about simply illustrating Pamela, but actually capturing the energy and identity of the collaboration while ensuring the artwork aligned naturally with GHD’s sophisticated visual world.
Of course, commercial illustration has to look beautiful, but it also needs to communicate the right feeling, support the wider brand strategy and work within real-world production constraints.
Q: Beauty brands rely heavily on identity, aspiration and emotion. How does illustrating for the beauty industry differ from other commercial projects?
Sally: Beauty is such a visually driven industry, but the challenge is that every detail communicates something. The details are how you capture the feeling behind the person, the brand and the product.
With a collaboration like GHD x Pamela Reif, the illustration needed to feel aspirational and personal while still fitting within GHD’s premium design language. It had to appeal to Pamela’s audience, communicate the quality and exclusivity of the product, and work within strict brand guidelines.
That balance between emotion and commercial precision is what makes beauty projects so interesting. The final artwork has to feel effortless, but there’s a huge amount of strategy and refinement behind making it work.
Balancing recognisable likeness with artistic interpretation
Q: Capturing a recognisable personality while maintaining your own illustration style must be challenging. How did you approach that balance?
Sally: That balance is always one of the most important parts of portrait illustration. The artwork needs to feel instantly recognisable, but it also needs to offer something beyond a photograph. The value of illustration comes from interpretation, the opportunity to create a visual style and personality that feels unique to the collaboration.
For Pamela’s portrait, I focused on my signature approach of elegant linework, soft details and a considered use of light and texture. The aim was to create something refined and fashion-led, while still capturing the characteristics that make Pamela instantly recognisable.
Translating illustration from screen to product
Q: Moving from a digital illustration to a physical product introduces technical challenges. How did you adapt the artwork for the Chronos™ Styler?
Sally: Designing for a physical product is completely different from creating artwork for a flat surface.
A styling tool has curves, dimensions and functional considerations that all impact how an illustration will appear once applied. The artwork can’t just be placed onto the product. It has to be designed around the object itself.
This involved carefully adapting the composition and using contour mapping techniques to ensure the portrait wrapped naturally around the curved surface of the styler. Every line and detail had to be considered, because even small adjustments can affect how the final artwork is perceived.
It becomes a process of engineering as much as illustration.
Designing for packaging, production and global consistency
Q: How did you make sure the illustration worked across both the product and the wider packaging?
Sally: The biggest challenge was creating a design system that could scale across multiple applications.
The illustration needed to remain detailed and impactful on the styler itself, while also translating beautifully onto larger packaging formats. It had to maintain clarity across different materials, print processes and production requirements.
Alongside the creative considerations, everything needed to align with GHD’s global brand standards. Colour, composition and execution all had to feel consistent with an internationally recognised beauty brand.
The final result came from finding the right balance between artistic expression and commercial precision.
Where creativity meets commercial execution
Q: What was the biggest takeaway from seeing the finished product?
Sally: Seeing the final product physically come together was incredibly rewarding. There’s something special about seeing an illustration move beyond the screen and become part of a real customer experience.
For me, the project reinforced that great commercial illustration is about understanding the product, the audience, the brand and the practical requirements needed to realise an idea.
When creativity is supported by technical precision, illustration can become a powerful part of a product’s identity.
Creating distinctive products through strategic design
The GHD x Pamela Reif Chronos™ Styler demonstrates the role bespoke illustration can play in premium product launches and brand collaborations. Strong creative work creates recognition, strengthens emotional connection and gives customers a reason to remember the brand.
From beauty packaging and limited-edition launches to retail products and global collaborations, successful commercial illustration requires both creative ambition and production expertise.
At The Curious, we help brands bridge the gap between creative vision and commercial execution, creating distinctive visual assets that work across real-world applications.
Whether you’re developing a product collaboration, refreshing your packaging or exploring bespoke illustration, our team can help turn ideas into memorable brand experiences.
