Vinca
Brand Identity, Packaging, Art Direction, Copywriting, Layout, ResearchTools: Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, Figma
Collaborators: Calista Klein and Kaitlin Geiger | Timeframe: Six weeks
Overview: The intent of this project is to create a welcome kit for an e-commerce cleaning brand built around sustainability. We launched a multi-purpose surface cleaner spray that features organic formulas and packages its products in a way that reduces waste by providing refills for a durable bottle.
Demographic: Green cleaning product users are primarily homeowners and parents. Based on our research, age is not a key indicator within our demographic, with a range from 25-65 years old.
Our users are aesthetes and homemakers; they like to eat and cook and are home design enthusiasts. They believe in the greater good and participate in causes like ocean activism, donating to the United Nations, and beekeeping.
Challenge: Despite there being an abundance of eco-friendly cleaners in the market, how can we build a brand that distinguishes itself, is authentic, and will build brand loyalty with future customers?
Solution: Vinca is unique because of its commitment to seasonal luxury scents, sustainable packaging, and locally harvested ingredients. People love Vinca because the packaging feels like an objet d’art in your home. Vincas steadfast commitment to biodynamic farming and trusted certifications help build trust in the Vinca brand.
Deliverables
Orthographic Views
Process
Moodboard
The logo spawned from the idea of the Vinca plant, an indigenous species to the PNW. Vinca exclusively operates out of the PNW and all of its farms harvest their botanicals sustainably and responsibly. The archway represents a portal to another world, the kind of elevating cleaning experience created by using Vinca products.
Color Palette
We chose the font Ambroise standard for the logo and header ick and thin strokes to help heighten the luxurious quality of our cleaning product. We used Brandon Grotesque for the body copy as a clean geometric sans serif with open counters to emulate the feeling of being in a clean spacious environment. It is also essential to the Vinca brand that the illustrations on the packaging create a sense of enjoyment and delight, like walking through a meadow in the summertime.
Our color palette is inspired by the botanical illustrations of a prominent 19th century horticulturist Ellen Ann Willmott. We specifically pulled the colors from the genus rosa illustration. The green on the outside of the box is a visual metaphor for how committed Vinca is to sustainability in its governance and actions. The colors are also warm and inviting, creating a sense of ease when people clean their products.
Typography & Illustrations
Meta Story
Vinca is based in Astoria, OR where we sustainably harvest the organic ingredients used to produce our plant-based cleaners. Founded by Mia Sjöberg and Hiro Kiyama, a marine biologist that fell in love with an environmental botanist and farmer. Blending their lifelong passions to start a line of products that reflects the cycles of the seasons and is in sync with the native plants growing on the Oregon coast, they created Vinca—named for the native periwinkle.
Vinca is a biodynamic farm, which for Hiro and Mia, means that each harvest is done under the full moon night sky. They nurture nature’s pollinators like bees and use goats to keep the weeds at bay. Because of the high quality of the product, it’s only available in limited, low-yield batches.
Thank you for supporting our family operation that values family ties and a symbiotic relationship with nature.
Custom Dielines
Commitment to Sustainability
Sustainably Certified: Our products are plastic-free, chemical-free and our boxes are recyclable. We also meet the highest benchmarks on health, safety, and environmental leadership.
Biodynamic Farming: Vinca’s farms all use an ethical and ecological approach when they harvest the holistic and seasonal ingredients used for our cleaning products. All scents and ingredients are derived from organic plants, grown by biodynamic Oregon farmers.
Mycelium Packaging: combines agricultural feedstock with the binding strength of mycelium and the root structure of a network of mushrooms. Vinca uses mycelium to keep our products safe while in transit. The mycelium is compostable.
Biodegradable Inks: Vinca does not use Petroleum-based inks but water-based inks for all of our color printing. Water-based inks have near zero Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), zero hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and no hazardous ingredients. When printing in black Vinca uses algae ink, a carbon-negative pigment.
Giving Back: Every financial quarter Vinca donates 5% of its proceeds to non-profit Sustainable Northwest. An organization that is committed to keeping the land healthy and providing economic and community benefits in the Pacific Northwest
Plantable Postcard: By planting the postcard you are lowering carbon emissions and feeding native pollinators. The wildflower seeds in this card are specifically chosen to strengthen local Pacific Northwest ecosystems. Bury this postcard under 1” of soil and watch the flowers bloom.
Unboxing
When a person receives their Vinca package we imagine the opening experience to be like walking into a botanical garden: to make cleaning your home meditative and calming, not a chore.
Moment Map
Final Insights
Working on this project was a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into sustainable packaging design. Calista, Kaitlin, and I successfully created a simple dieline from scratch. The three of us collaborated together well and worked towards a shared end vision. If we were to continue to refine this project, we talked about making the size of our box smaller so it felt more delicate and elegant like the rest of our branding.