JUST HERBS
THE BRAND IDEA | BRAND STRATEGY | BRAND IDENTITY | PACKAGING DESIGN | BRAND LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION | WEBSITE DESIGN
Just Herbs is an ayurvedic skincare brand, founded in 2014 with the intent to create holistic beauty solutions that are safe, honest and effective. Over the years Just Herbs has evolved and become a better version of itself and the visual identity needed to better reflect this change. The brand needed a new visual identity in order to stand apart in the crowded market, appeal to the modern consumer and look relevant. It also needed a design system that would enable expansion into newer categories in the future.
The challenge lay in distinguishing amidst the surge of new natural and organic brands, and effectively communicating the authenticity of Just Herbs products that is a potent blend of modern ayurveda and biochemistry.
UNDERSTANDING THE AYURVEDIC SKINCARE LANDSCAPE
Ayurveda is the ancient Indian medical knowledge where the products are made with natural herbs and ancient time-tested formulas. In recent years, the skincare and beauty industry has experienced significant growth and numerous brands in the market that capitalize on trending buzzwords such as "natural" and "organic" without genuinely adhering to these principles. Consequently, many consumers are unaware of the distinction between these terms and purchase these products solely based on the belief that "natural" is more beneficial for their skin. However, modern-day lifestyles, environments and diets render puritanical ayurveda ineffective. Just Herbs recognises this and incorporates innovative easy-to-use formats, with a deep understanding of their consumer lifestyles to develop products.
THE CATEGORY PLAYBOOK
A majority of Ayurvedic brands adopt a similar visual style and aesthetic approach. This includes the use of gold elements to convey ancient wisdom, a sense of warmth and luxury, additionally incorporating ingredient illustrations to emphasize naturalness, and using traditional motifs that are closely associated with India.
As a result of these shared visual cues, the term "Ayurvedic" often carries a preconceived notion of being traditional rather than science-led.
Competitor brand images sourced from Google.
THE NEW EXPRESSION
Holistic beauty is a 360° approach that leads to more enduring beauty practices by approaching every issue on multiple levels. As a brand, Just Herbs does not just look at the problem superficially; they consider how all aspects of wellness work together to achieve true beauty.
Brand Promise: To offer 360° beauty solutions for the modern woman.
Every product across all the categories is classified as Preserve, Protect, or Nourish product based on the key benefits. Products from our Preserve range work to maintain natural beauty, ensuring the skin continues to look great. Products from our Protect range work to safeguard natural beauty, making sure the skin isn’t damaged.roducts from our Nourish range work to amplify natural beauty, making sure the skin looks more beautiful.
KEY BRAND MESSAGING
The key brand messaging Traditional Principles, Modern Practises is a testament to the fact that although Ayurveda is the guiding principle behind the brand, Just Herbs is certified and uses modern practices and technology.
The new communication and positioning clarifies and amplifies what the brand truly stands for. The 360° approach also takes into account the consumer's requirement for comprehensive and all-encompassing beauty solutions. Giving the brand offering a strong framework by grouping the products into three distinct categories that treat various issues also shows the customer that Just Herbs is the right partner for them with good intentions.
The new identity defies the conventional category codes in the Ayurvedic beauty segment and adopts a modern look that appeals to the new-age consumer.
THE DESIGN EXPLORATION
There were numerous ways to interpret the idea of ‘Holistic Beauty’ for the modern day woman. Shown here are a few initial design explorations we made before we settled on the design language that the brand carries today.
PACKAGING BREAKDOWN
THE communication UNIVERSE
When working with any D2C brand, we know how important it is for their communication to be in sync with the brand identity and idea. Detailed in their brand manual, we develop a unique visual style for the different types of content they would need to put out as a part of their customer-facing communication. Below is the variety of types of posts, photography, writing that we cover as a part of this.
