POSHAN

NAMING | BRAND IDENTITy | PACKAGING DESIGN | WEBSITE | BRAND STRATEGY PARTNERS: MATTERFOX CONSULTING

The skincare landscape in India is abundant with brands, each offering unique propositions and formulations. And yet somehow, the bulk of products are not really tailored for the unique demands of Indian skin and climate. Can we as consumers really be surprised then, when they don’t deliver the perfect skin they promise?

Poshan came from the belief that Indian skin deserves products designed with its distinctive needs in mind. As a brand it is not only for Indian consumers, but specifically formulated for Indian climates, skin types, weather, and more. It sources only from the subcontinent, using time-tested native ingredients of high quality indigenous origin, blending ancient Indian beauty secrets with 21st century solutions.

CREATING A BRAND PERSONAlITY

Our brand personality is inspired in part by our consumers and our commitment to formulating for their specific needs. It goes more than skin deep - using natural ingredients to create SuperNatural products.

Poshan is optimistic, confident, proudly Indian, and passionate about innovating for our consumers.

NAMING

We explored a variety of names based around multiple aspects of the brand, but made sure they were all desi, street, and colloquial.

The name Poshan communicates the superfood-led product formulation while also encouraging us to re-examine societal expectations placed on the modern Indian woman.

THE DESIGN EVOLUTION

We set a few parameters for our packaging that we felt would best capture the essence of the brand. We went with vibrant, rich colours that evoked a sense of energy and excitement, using Indic scripts wherever possible to maintain cultural connection, and to convey the ingredient story through illustrations inspired by street art and Indian kitsch.

Keeping this in mind, we explored multiple directions, each indexing on one of our brand pillars, but always staying true to the idea of a biocultural, superNatural brand.

BRAND IDENTITY & PACKAGING

Our logo is inspired heavily by Indic scripts, The “bindu” symbol is incorporated into the ‘P’ of the mark. The serifs of all the letters resemble the connecting line used within letters of Indic scripts. Our stamp, which uses the Devanagari version of the ‘P’ adds on to the key feature from our wordmark and mentions an important aspect of our brand: ‘Indian Superfood Powered Skinbiotics.’

PACKAGING

For our packaging, we went with bright neon elements set against a calming beige, offering a vibrant fusion of tradition with a bold, fresh aesthetic, much like India is in reality. Grounded in scientific precision, we seamlessly integrate clinical expertise with a harmonious blend of culture. The shape of the primary packs is inspired by the form of the oft seen stepwells, historically known to be the source of water, of sustenance for settlements in their vicinity.

To bring in a fun element while retaining the scientific expertise of the brand, we used multiple visual elements - illustration, text, tables, and maps to create a complex, layered look.

We used a table on the side of pack which broke down the ingredients for each pack as well as it’s origin, which was also reinforced on the opposite side through a map of India.

Each pack has a different neon colour which comes through in the logo and other accent elements such as stamps + key ingredient illustrations.

The tables for each Side of Pack, breaking down the formulation were inspired by vintage bus tickets.

ILLUSTRATION, ICONOGRAPHY, and pattern

We used two different types of illustrations for the brand - detail heavy, intricate watercolour illustrations which we used in the background and simpler, line illustrations which were used in the table. The idea was to give the feel of a botanist’s journal - with images as well as hand done sketches cataloguing each ingredient.

The sketchy look was continued into the icons which were much simpler than the illustrations while still retaining the same hand drawn feel through their gritty strokes.

We also used all of our visual elements to create a repeating pattern made up of a base tile that includes elements of our logo, our text style and messaging as well as a few illustrations. This is to be used on a variety of applications such as the inside of packaging boxes, on tissue paper, as backdrops, etc.

Communication LOOK and feel

We knew that communication for a brand as exuberant and sassy as Poshan would have to be punchy and make an impact. The challenge was assimilating the assortment of colours, type, and illustrations into a single, cohesive universe. Using simple, repeated motifs and imagery in varying shades of brown allowed the pop colours to shine while still looking harmonious as whole. Colour was also incorporated in more subtle ways such as through bright eye makeup for the models and vibrant, saturated images of ingredients.

WEBSITE

Since Poshan is an e-commerce business, the website became the first critical touchpoint for sales. We made sure that all aspects of the brand were depicted on the website, and used the space to reinforce brand assets while educating about the product and formulation.