Home & Garden Packaging, Sustainable Packaging:GASH paint brand packaging design.
Recently, there has been an increased focus on sustainability and health, and many new products are dedicated to addressing environmental issues and our personal well-being. While plastic-free packaging and probiotics are undoubtedly a start, we still have significant opportunities to improve our planet and ourselves, and these opportunities are not immediately obvious to most of us.
For example, most of us spend most of our time indoors, especially in the winter. We work indoors, then leave work, and then immediately leave the house and spend the rest of the time at home. However, our cleaning products, furniture, and electronics release a pollutant called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into indoor air. Volatile organic compounds can cause a variety of short- and long-term health effects, including headaches, fatigue, and even cancer. Certain types of volatile organic compounds are also greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Singapore-based GUSH produces a brand of paints that are not only VOC-free, but also passively remove these compounds from the air. Gush recently reached out to Pentagram's talent to refresh its brand, creating an image that reinforces the notion that small individual actions, such as choosing to purify paint, can collectively drive meaningful change.
Eddie Opara, Pentagram's lead partner at Gush's brand refresh project, said, "Gush wants to get more attention than it currently has and the potential to break into the U.S. market over time. "People have very homogeneous perceptions; There is a loving and friendly family, smiling faces, beautiful colors, this is gush. Well, that doesn't tell me anything. ”
Gush wants us to reveal their true identities," he added. "It's very important. They are unconventional. ”
The renewal of the GUSH brand employs a molecular theme, which is an endorsement of the science behind its paints, and the idea that individuals make small changes, such as choosing air-purifying paints over traditional paints, can collectively have a more significant positive impact. The individual spheres in the logo come together to form larger shapes, and the bright neon palette is reminiscent of their paint, and gives Gush's brand identity a cheerful, uplifting character balanced with warm, neutral tones.
The molecular theme also appears in the brand's typography through the use of the ABC Camera, whose letter form features circular light traps. They use Reckless Neue to balance this out and set up replicas in GT America.
The word mark also balances science and humanity. The oversized lowercase "g" feels comfortable and approachable, balanced with the architectural capitalized "h", and the condensed "us" in the middle is another subtle reference to the larger community and how our personal choices work together to elevate us all.
The development of air-purifying coatings is a major innovation in itself. Still, the Pentagram team went further, reimagining the way paints are packaged and creating more sustainable alternatives with the help of industrial designer Piotr Woronkowicz.
Gush's new container is made of molded fibers. The exterior is embellished with an embossed bubble pattern to add texture and reinforce the core visual identity. Open the two-piece outer package to reveal a biodegradable acetate bag with paint, which also has a flat bottom to stand upright.
The outer fibre packaging can even be used as a paint tray, a clever trick by the brand that gives the packaging a second life. The bag is also easier to pour out, avoiding spilling onto traditional paint cans.
Paint cans haven't changed since 19th-century Sherman Williams patented paint cans in 1877," says Eddie. "It hasn't really changed at all. It's very simple and doesn't have any problems other than the amount of overflow. But it's really great for the transport and containment of liquids and dangerous toxic gases. We design packaging based on who they are and their specific values. Packaging is part of the business model and brand positioning; This is very important. Its structure needs to be very transformative. Creating this fully functional system, while also having real functionality, is complex. But it's important" and very valuable and different. It puts Gush in a special position, and you can see that they are a different type of company. It becomes an iconic and recognizable branded product. ”
Pentagram's update to GASH is both attractive and innovative, while also infusing the brand with a lot of human touch. GUSH's brand identity strikes a balance between conveying the science of its products and the company's mission to improve the indoor environment and its occupants.