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Harry BennettCenter’s identity for non-binary beauty brand good light is exuberant and brimming with character
Looking to reshape the gender associations with beauty, New York-based personal care brand good light promotes a more fluid, diverse and fundamentally non-binary attitude to the industry. Creating vegan, non-toxic and cruelty-free skincare products for everyone, regardless of complexion, identity, skin type or skin texture, good light are representative of the future of beauty – and were certainly in need of an equally as progressive identity. Working with Brooklyn-based design studio Center, the subsequent brand is full of life, brimming with exuberance and character, and reflective of good light’s bright, positive and forward-thinking philosophy.
Typographically and iconographically led, the brand mixtures historical and contemporary elements throughout, resulting in something unique coming out the other side. This can be seen through the comprehensive icon set crafted for the brand that references both modern internet language and bygone alchemy symbols, supported by the inclusive and democratic nature that the icons exhibit. “In addition to illustrating the benefits of the products,” Center’s Alex Center explains, “we see the glyphs being used to obscure and tease future launches and special brand insights.”
This reference to past and future is also directly conveyed in Center’s typographic pairing, using the dynamic, editorial and crucially contemporary Sometimes Times by Boulevard Lab alongside Caslon – the combination of which brings excitable energy to the identity whilst providing a foundational sincerity and sturdy construction. “The brand has always been about flipping traditional views of beauty and gender,” Center adds, “so our type followed suit.”
Providing the buoyancy and profusion of the brand however is the liberal use of gradients, creating a supernatural, utopian world for the products, brand and type to sit abreast of. “We were inspired by all sorts of different light sources,” Center explains, “from Aurora Borealis bursts to prismed light, and the glow of the moon,” all of which is combined to form iridescent and beautifully outlandish backdrops. With this in mind, Center explains “we wanted to keep the rest of the brand black and white,” in doing so “giving our more immersive pieces space to breathe.”
A unique addition to good light’s brand is the creation of eclectic cosmic collages, used to showcase the “utopic future” the brand seeks, utilising public domain imagery and content found during Center’s research. Inspired by good light, their community and their message, Center explains “we intentionally kept these collages a little digital-native, using the round shapes of photoshop brushes and glows to keep it contemporary,” concluding, “as the packaging lineup grows, they’ll start to puzzle piece together a giant super collage, as an incentive to collect them all.”
Graphic Design | |
Typography | Sometimes Times by Boulevard LAB |
Photography | Grace Bukunmi |
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