Winkreative strip away the excess in their minimalistic identity and packaging system for Plainly

Considering we use our hands on a daily basis, it’s surprising that hand care is often sorely neglected! Aiming to remedy this with a luxurious solution, Munich-based beauty brand Plainly reached out to global creative agency Winkreative to help craft a timeless and iconic brand world. Their aim was to communicate a product that is elegant, modern and simple, yet stands out with moments of impact and sophistication.

Winkreative’s resulting strategy and identity bring the vision of the brand’s founders to life with a visual language that reflects their commitment to luxurious natural ingredients and transparency. Within the beauty industry, style often leads over substance. In the case of Plainly, however, the name speaks for itself. As a result, Winkreative wanted to reflect this philosophy with packaging that feels instantly minimal and beautiful. The design direction, therefore, strips away the excess; only the essential is communicated, both verbally and visually. 

“Every element of our packaging is imbued with meaning and designed to reflect our heritage and premium appeal,” Plainly CEO & Founder Artsem Kruk explains. “The diamond motif references our Bavarian roots as a Munich-based brand and the coloured patterns on the inner box reference the scents of our product. They are meant to reward inspection and to provide a moment of impact.”

The typography further communicates the brand’s sophisticated character, with a cohesive selection of typefaces. “ES Peak Extralight and Plain Ultralight have been chosen for headline and body due to their simple, clean aesthetic which provides a modern look and improves readability of the text – especially for the screen-printing technique,” Kruk notes. “By using the eye-catching Stanley Italic as our feature typeface we wanted to emphasise the important features of the product such as ‘Formula’ and ‘Scent,’ and create a contrast to the thinner font weights.” 

Colour is also used for emphasis, with a bright palette used sparingly among the organic hues of the packaging. “The colour marks on the white space are references to the main scent notes of the products with the first colour being the ‘lead’ colour, such as the orange colour for ‘Mandarin’ or the green colour for ‘Rosemary,’ Kurk continues. “These dots are informative yet bold – showing the product scents in simple language and following the idea of the clarity of our packaging to make it easy for consumers to choose the right product and scent,” he concludes.

Winkreative

Plainly