Project Goal:
To completely create a bath and body brand from the actual name of the brand to the brand's identity, along with some collateral.
The Challenge?
Where the hell do I even start? With a bajillion bath and body brands already in existence out there, how can I envision something that is different? I started with my values and how my values coincide with problems that I feel can be solved when it comes to bath and body brands. In my research, I found that many bath products were unnecessarily gendered and almost catered more to the stereotypes of how certain genders should be rather than catering to any and all the people who use these products. This line of thinking ultimately led me to themes of acceptance, self-love, and body positivity.
This is a spread from the catalog I designed, you see me appear in it a lot but I promise I'm not that vain. I had lots of scheduling issues and others just straight up bail on me, so what better person to depend on other than myself?
Destination Exploration
This project highlighted the importance of the processes of iteration and research along with the importance of exploring. I researched a wide array of bath brands and products, closely studying their approaches to determine what these brands lacked as well as things I felt they were doing that was successful.
I also found myself doing a lot of exploration outside of the computer screen. Being met with an empty illustrator document full of millions of color and font choices(okay probably not millions, but it definitely felt like it) at my disposal quickly became very overwhelming, so I went for an approach that felt more natural to me: Cutting stuff up!
I wanted to make use of several kinds of typefaces in my wordmark to signify the appreciation of different bodies. I explored this by physically cutting out and taping together letters in my sketchbook.
I also swindled lots and lots of paint sample cards from my local hardware store to test out potential color palettes.
Final Result:
While this is a fictitious brand, I feel it would work in real-world application because of its honest and positive approach to branding. Instead of exclusively marketing towards women or men individually, Auqoui markets towards whoever wants to use it. I felt neutrality was an important aspect to make use of, especially considering that we currently live in a time where many don't find themselves existing within the binaries of gender.
