Major Studio indulge in warm, opulent type to align XOV Cookies with its luxury, free-from status

“Because XOV’s first account was going to be New York’s The Carlyle Hotel and the price point of the boxes would be high,” Partner & Design Director Valerie Gnaedig tells us, “we knew we needed to appeal to a high-end audience,” describing the process behind US-based, women-led creative agency Major Studio’s opulent identity for gluten-free cookie company XOV.

Looking to stand out on crowded shelves, Gnaedig continues to describe the concept behind their comprehensive solution, which aims to establish XOV as not only a luxury brand but a free-from product too. “XOV Cookies are an indulgence, they are not a ‘healthy alternative’ just because they are gluten-free,” she explains, subsequently opting for a hedonistic, expressive tone to convey as much. “We used swashy, connected, hand-drawn letters with accentuated contrast for the wordmark,” she details, “we also wanted to balance a nod to French patisseries with a sense of old world New York bakery,” resulting in the elegant bespoke letterforms that make up XOV’s logomark.

These historically-inspired shapes are contrasted with distinctly contemporary type choices, with the agency turning to 205TF’s Clifton and The Designers Foundry’s Tomato Grotesk as their typeface duo. “We love tension and find it pulls people in,” Gnaedig explains, excited by the interplay in letterforms. “In particular, Clifton Italic was chosen because of its quirk and homemade feel,” she continues. “We wanted to convey a sense of hand-feel through one of the typefaces,” she remarks, “Tomato Grotesk is a clean, modern grotesk font on its face, but it’s brimming with subtle personality.”

An essential part of the brand, due to the nature of the products, is the photographic approach. “We wanted the photos to showcase the cookies as the most delectable ‘give that to me now’ treats,” Gnaedig recalls, crafting a delicious tone that evokes flavours of caramel, brown butter and brown sugar. “The lighting and background were designed to convey a sense of warmth,” she continues, “as if they were coming straight out of the oven,” whilst also capturing the brand’s luxurious tone through velvet textures, florals and fluted glasses. “Because cookies are typically displayed with a single glamour shot front-and-centre on packaging,” she suggests, “we opted to integrate movement with the ‘falling cookie’ scenes,” with each product getting its own ‘cookie fall.’ “We used the image to wrap the boxes,” Gnaedig concludes, “adding a little sprinkle of magic and unexpectedness.”

Major Studio

XOV Cookies