Carla Palette’s mature identity for Ruhi showcases an elegant balance of modernity and biology

Organic skincare brand Ruhi, featured in the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bizarre, has partnered with Berlin-based designer Carla Palette to develop a refined identity to match the high-end and sustainable credentials of their products. Mature to its core, the typographically-led identity system takes advantage of a powerful typeface combination; opting for a customised cut of Big Calson for the wordmark, with VJ Type’s Voyage and Founders Grotesk from Klim Type Foundry as supporting acts. Together capturing the brand’s harmony of ritual and chemical expertise through the contrast of robust and fluid letterforms.

“The thought process behind using Voyage was to create a whimsical feel within the brand,” Palette tells us; justifying the retail value, and reflecting it’s premium quality, whilst maintaining the brand’s fundamental organic influence. “We consciously tried to move away from the ‘witchy’ feel that sustainable/natural skincare brands often have,” Palette adds. “Founders Grotesk was used so we could still inject a sense of clarity and approachability within the body copy,” she explains, making it both more accessible, as well as providing the identity with a contemporary edge that steers clear of the scene’s ritualistic tropes.

In a similar vein, Palette’s choice of colours also reflects this balance between modernity, biology and sustainability; opting for neutral tones that bring a clarity to the brand, and allow the ingredient to take prominence within the product’s design. “Considering we chose to use glass bottles,” Palette recalls, “we really wanted the focus to be centred around both the list of ingredients on the bottle,” she adds, “as well as the colours of the oils shining through.”

Having collaborated with Ruhi on the bottle’s form, as well as it’s design, Palette reflects on the lessons learnt from the brand’s prior identity and products. “The previous branding was using very stock standard eye dropper bottles, which was affecting the shelf impact of the brand as well as sales,” she notes, setting out with the aim of elevating the brand to the level of luxury it earned. “Our goal here was also to break the category,” Palette concludes, “and stand out amongst all the skincare brands competing against one another,” resulting in a powerful, raw and somewhat imperfect form that mirrors not only the fluid letterforms of the typography, but also the pastoral context of the remedies inside.

Carla Palette

Ruhi