Product design is one of the most important practices of intō, along with formulation. As each product is to communicate indirect messages around our philosophy, we take extensive care for the visual and conceptual expression of our products.
In this article, we explore the design of our newly launched probiotic facial products; how the products came to life specifically from a design perspective. Here we interview with designers Oliver Mettle and Alek Hamid who designed the packages for the probiotic facial trio.
1 | WHAT ARE THE GRAPHICS ON THE PACKAGE?
From the outset we knew that it was important to draw from botanics. The particular scent intō has formulated has the most wonderfully subtle floral notes. Combining visuals stemming from wild flowers and processing them in a way that evokes the feeling of microbes, probiotics and so on.
Pattern development in progress
2 | WHAT DOES THE COLOR OF THE PACKAGES REPRESENT?
When we first began designing the trio, we looked at the varying patterns to differentiate each product. After some testing it was apparent that differing colors between the three would be key to showing each product as unique in function. The three colors remain in harmony with one another but we did want to push each to have its own special appeal, to resemble a mood, a tone, of the type of face care.
Design prototype by Aleksander Hamid
3 | IN RELATION TO INTO BRAND VALUE, WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE?
The brand value is something shown through attention to detail, quality, and subtleties for the discerning eye. At its core, intō does have fundamental visual foundations but it’s also ever-expanding, like a living thing. We wanted to hone in on that idea of growth and bacteria — never stagnant.
Photo: Todd Midler
4 | ANYTHING ABOUT PROBIOTICS EXPRESSED IN THE PACKAGE/LABEL DESIGN?
While developing the patterns, we cross referenced libraries of probiotic images captured through microscopic photography. It was the main influence in developing a color theme and overall tone of the visuals.
Photo by: Sarah Braeck
5 | PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE TYPOGRAPHIC EXPRESSION
GC16 and Into Mono are so nice to work with and do a lot of the heavy lifting for one's compositions. We found that everything just seemed to fall into place quite pleasantly.
Photo: Sarah Braeck
6 | TELL US ABOUT THE MATERIALITY AND TEXTURES
The bottles were of interest from the beginning of our design process, we knew that we wanted to play off the glossy amber bottle somehow. Initially there were trials of screenprinting and clear labels. We eventually noticed that juxtaposition of textures might be a more visually stimulating appearance — the stock we were able to secure for the labels paired perfectly against the glossy amber bottle giving a real contrast of how light fell on each respectively.
Texture of glass bottle and label.