A Friend of Mine’s identity for Arné Skincare creates graphic tension between type and texture

Melbourne-based design studio A Friend of Mine have worked with Kiwi skincare brand Arné to develop a serene, typographically-led identity; utilising texture and simplicity to achieve a tranquil tone akin to the brand’s considerate, organically-orientated, anti-pollution products.

With this environmental focus in mind, A Friend of Mine’s Creative Director Suzy Tuxen tells us “we created a custom logotype with circular counters in the ‘A’ and ‘R’ that respectively reference the hole in the ozone layer caused by air pollutants,” a graphic device that also references the microscopic holes within Nutrifilm – the active solution in Arné’s products.

This duality and contrast exhibited in the logomark is an underlying theme laced across the identity, similarly manifesting in the use of charcoal textures to abstractly represent the pollution Arné is fighting against, and the use of a stark, monochromatic colour palette. “Photography is used to introduce colour to the brand,” Tuxen explains, “the lush skin tones of the art direction pop beautifully against the monochromatic backdrop,” she adds, similarly noting the occasional use of peach as the secondary colour to reference these hues.

Prominent across Arne’s identity is the use of organic, free-flowing shapes, representing the references toward pollution and generating a movement that seems to emphasise the dominance the shapes have over the texture, as well as a compelling tension between type and form. “It feels both clean and minimal,” Tuxen adds, “whilst bolstering a contemporary edge,” indicating Arné’s forward-thinking and progressive outlook.

These themes culminate significantly in the use of Think Work Observe’s Regola Book as the secondary typeface; a choice that not only adds to the tension of the minimal identity, but also conveys an internal contrast. “It blends aspects of both geometric and grotesque faces,” Tuxen concludes, “which we felt balanced the scientific precision and humanist features of the brand really nicely.”

A Friend of Mine

Arné