All systems go: Wedge’s identity for skincare brand Omy finds clarity in a colour-coded system

Founded by a chemist and cosmetician, Omy’s products are driven, in equal parts, by the skincare brand’s understanding of pharmaceutical science and personalised beauty. To mark their growth across North America and Europe, and also to update the smart system that lies at the heart of the brand, Omy collaborated with Montreal and Los Angeles-based design studio Wedge.

The updated brand now firmly puts the customer centre stage, thanks to a structure devised by Wedge, which uses a clever system of numbers and colours that refer to problems that a customer might be looking to solve, and the ingredients that Omy uses to address these issues. For example, the number seven, in a bright yellow, refers to both dark spots and the ingredient of dragon fruit that helps treat them. And so, each customer, when picking a range of issues they’re looking to solve, generates a unique code in the coloured number system, making the process both simple and digestible.

“The original, pre-rebrand system was inspired by the periodic table to identify active ingredients. This was often confusing and didn’t always translate well between different languages,” Design Lead Capucine Labarthe tells us. “As a result, we proposed the idea of using a colour-coded numbering system for the custom product line. This new system proved to be visually simple and clear, making it easy to remember.”

Colours, in fact, only appear within this system throughout the brand. Elsewhere, Wedge opted for a black-and-white palette to ground the brand, including the custom wordmark, which takes cues from one of the most common typefaces – Arial. “We meticulously added contrast in the letterforms to bring elegance and a human touch,” adds Labarthe. “Notably, the ‘o’ features an angled crossbar, drawing inspiration from the art of hand lettering. Similarly, the ‘m’ was crafted to introduce contrast at the intersections of its shoulders, adding a nuanced sophistication to the overall design.”

At every step, Wedge matches Omy’s dedication to details. Each custom product carries the customer’s name held within brackets, and so the studio tweaked the bracket height to match the X height when adding a name on the product, “ensuring a cohesive and tailored experience,” says Labarthe. The studio also designed the products as a refillable capsule system in keeping with Omy’s sustainable approach. “The base packaging features zero metal springs and PCR materials, which makes the line fully recyclable. This decision is aligned with Omy’s B Corp commitments,” notes Labarthe. “We selected one format of packaging for all custom products to facilitate operations at Omy’s lab, making it easier for their team to customise products within one master system, from capsule to label to container to you.”

Wedge

Omy