LYSZT: Making your own work into a modern brand

The past few years have sparked my interest in modern luxury brands like Porsche, Bugatti, and Lamborghini, and the psychology that drives their appeal. The allure of the unattainable often makes these brands more desirable. Interestingly, adopting an opposite approach—making products more expensive, exclusive, and catering to an elite audience—can enhance a brand’s success.

Scientific studies support this phenomenon. Research in consumer psychology, such as the Veblen Effect, highlights how higher prices and exclusivity increase perceived value and social status. Additionally, scarcity, as outlined by Cialdini’s principles of persuasion, heightens desirability by making products feel unique and limited.

Over time, as I designed the website you are now using to explore my work, I began delving into the psychology of luxury branding and applying it to my own brand. I started asking myself: What if I transformed my brand into a luxury one? In my freelance endeavors, I’ve adopted higher pricing and focused on delivering top-tier services, even prioritizing client satisfaction over short-term financial gain.

More importantly, I’ve come to realize that achieving what may seem small or unattainable requires aiming for something far greater. To reach the moon, you must set your sights on the center of the galaxy. This mindset led to the creation of LYSZT—a brand rooted in self-respect, ambition, and a vision of my role in the world. This website now embodies how I choose to perceive myself and my aspirations.

Research supports the psychological and strategic benefits of this approach. The concept of self-concept clarity, as noted in consumer and branding studies, highlights how aligning personal values with brand identity creates a more authentic and impactful brand. Additionally, theories like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggest that targeting self-actualization and esteem needs aligns with the aspirational qualities of luxury branding. By embracing ambition and exclusivity, the LYSZT concept reflects both personal growth and strategic positioning.

THE AESTHETIC BASIS OF LYSZT

The name, as can be observed, comes as an hommage to french musician, Franz Liszt. The website embodies a modern, minimalistic design inspired by luxury brands and the timeless principles of Swiss design. Clean lines, grid-based layouts, and a focus on whitespace create a sense of sophistication and elegance. The brand’s core colors are white, gray, black, with touches of medium aquamarine.

Initially, the website’s aesthetic was dominated by crimson tones. However, the introduction of a project, “Scarlett Gateway,” reshaped my personal vision of beauty and art. This shift ushered in a design language characterized by understated elegance and a commitment to a serene, modern art style, eschewing bold contrasts for subtlety and harmony.

Speaking of Serene, I was particularly pushed by a modern musician that has also inspired me to build the website in this manner, and the name of that musician is SERENE. She is, according to her profile, a concert pianist & ex-Hacker. Bösendorfer Artist. I have discovered her watching a Sillicon Valley concert from a nuclear fusion startup called FUSE, where she played piano with a robot, thanks to a modern music brand called FINIS MUSICAE. The scenery in that concert was a great inspirator of the current design of my website. I don’’t know why, but the idea of mixing classicism with modernism is beautifully inspiring to me, and it motivates me right now on every project I work in. Is there a reason why the old cannot be mixed with the nouveau?

Typography choices further align with the Swiss design ethos, using clean sans-serif fonts for clarity and professionalism. Subtle animations and interactions add a sense of fluidity.