FCKLCK calmly encourage digital downtime in their humble identity for habit-breaking brand Stolp

Belgian start-up Stolp launched in 2020 with the intention of helping people break negative digital habits. From doom-scrolling to trouble sleeping, Stolp noted the control that screentime has on one’s day-to-day life, creating a disconnect between people and the world around them, and took it upon themselves to see how they could help the public detach from their devices and enjoy a healthier, less phone-orientated lifestyle. Using the influence of daily rituals and habit-building psychology, Stolp created a charming pod-like product that stores away your phone, effortlessly becoming part of one’s interior design, encouraging users to form new patterns of digital rest.

In need of an identity to stand up to Stolp’s positive, forward-thinking intentions, the new age wellness brand partnered with internationally-operating creative studio FCKLCK to achieve as much, resulting in a refreshing, self-assured and unpretentious visual language that, whilst ultimately raising awareness of heavy phone usage’s negative impacts, primarily champions Stolp’s offer and the connections we form together, in real life.

Playfully culminating in the maxim ‘less pings + rings = more time for other things,’ FCKLCK comprehensively tackled the brand, from physical and digital communications to its fastidious packaging design. “Within the Stolp rebranding, our wayfinding principle played a fundamental role,” Co-founder & Managing Director Tarryn Blackwood tells us, “therefore we based every decision on keeping things simple, un-distracting and easy to digest,” manifesting in a chromatically and typographically-led visual language. 

This process led FCKLCK to Dinamo’s Favorit as the hero typeface for the brand, utilising its welcoming and uncomplicated construction. “Its subtle curvatures also mimic the product redesign we underwent,” Blackwood recalls. “Furthermore Favorit Regular looks so distinctly different when combined as large headlines and body copy,” she continues, “that it made it possible to simplify even more by using only one weight and style,” poetically contributing to the brand’s encouragement to slow down, streamline and separate, in defiance of digital overstimulation and distraction. 

Blackwood further discusses the greater influence of their wayfinding principle, explaining, “we took inspiration from traditional ‘signage’ colours,” such as street signs and metro stations, in shaping Stolp’s colour palette. “We softened those primary colours to bring a sense of calmness,” she adds, noting the use of green, blue and white, “while we chose slightly richer tones, such as terracotta, yellow and anthracite, to draw attention,” illustrating the intentions behind the brand. “Together we feel this system brings both rest and calm, as well as the needed attention without becoming overly complex.”

FCKLCK

Stolp