The Edit: five new projects including Aver by Point Studio and Barns Furr

Each and every day, we're lucky to discover dozens of interesting and inspiring projects from around the world. From global identities and campaigns to side projects and independently published books, The Edit is home to five of them; every two weeks.

Born from a love-hate relationship with living and working in a city, Aver produces high-end CBD oils and drinks that aim to “return people to a state of balance in their hyper-connected lives”. Point Studio and Barns Furr, both design studios based in London, worked together to develop a fitting visual identity, website and packaging solution for the brand. Their resulting design system focuses on a core concept of balance, indicating Aver’s desire to restore order between work and life in our hectic lives. Layouts represent the concept through an expressive system that sees typography and imagery balance seamlessly across the available canvasses. Aiming to craft an aesthetic reflective of city life, the studios chose Colophon Foundry’s Mabry as the brand typeface, stating its “architectural, urban and unapologetic” feel as the main reason behind its selection. Primarily used in uppercase, the typeface is combined with a versatile colour palette derived from the mood of the products, such as orange for the energy of ‘Boost’ and blue for the relaxing nature of ‘Calm’.

Conceptualised, curated and art directed by Anna Gardère and Raphaëlle Bellanger, KIDZ is a celebration of the upcoming generation of young creatives in the form of a hardcover publication. Each assigned with a double-page spread and no specific rules, all 50 of the contributing creatives were given carte blanche to express their aspirations and singularity. Working under the direction of H5, fellow Paris-based studio Fire Work defined the book’s editorial concept and layout, making sure to “create a link and graphic consistency between the universes of different artists”. The all-white, blind-debossed cover perfectly captures the carte blanche concept, with Lineto’s LL Akkurat selected as the typeface for its “timeless, neutral but not hidden” aesthetic. Purchase the book here.

As a continuation of their regular work together, Oslo and Poznań-based studio HUGMUN helped Polish skincare brand Oio Lab with the release of two new gel-serums: ‘Aquasphere’ and ‘The E-Serum’. The products are a transparent, light blue colour and contain ingredients such as pea ferment, copper tripeptide and brown algae. It’s from there that HUGMUN found inspiration for the design, which aims to “highlight freshness and lightness”. Blue and sea-green tones, the existing flowing logo and understated serif typography form the basis of the visual system, while the products unique, natural ingredients are brought to life through art directed photography.

Fundament is a Spanish non-government organisation that was founded in 2019 to change coexistence paradigms through the implementation of human-centred design methodologies. In search of a simple, easy-to-manage identity system, they commissioned Madrid-based studio Re—Union to lead their branding process. After several defining sessions with Fundament’s founder, they decided to take a stripped-back approach, free of any visual noise or unnecessary elements. By using only Helvetica, mostly in a single weight, in combination with grid-oriented layouts, Re—Union has created an identity that’s consistent and easy-to-implement for the in-house design team without loosing character or appeal. The centrepiece of their work is a series of abstract geometric shapes inspired by mind-mapping and interaction. Although subtle, the patterns depict an ever-changing ‘F’ or numbers to reflect Fundament’s curious and diverse values.

Served throughout pubs in mainland China, Myth Monkey is an authentic Chinese beer brand that produces a wide variety of fruit flavours from its base in Wuhu. With consistency a growing problem across their visual identity and packaging, they commissioned Beijing-based studio Meat and Belgian art director Elke Scholiers to get them back on the right track. Their solution gives more coherence and strength to Myth Monkey’s original brand story, which derives from the Chinese water monkey and water monsters myths. “The monkey illustration and typography stylistically borrow from Eastern and Western culture to respond to a global audience”, Scholiers explains, with a geometric illustration style introduced to move away from the brand’s previous “masculine and aggressive” feel. The English language throughout the identity is set in Grilli Type’s extravagant sans serif GT Zirkon to compliment the illustration and intricate nature of Chinese letterforms. The typography comes together on the packaging with cropped characters, expressive colour combinations and playful shapes to form a consistent and futureproof identity system.