Studio Spotlight: Futura

Today's Studio Spotlight features Futura, an independent design studio from Mexico. Founded in 2008 by Vicky González and Iván García, the studio works with clients worldwide to create beautiful design solutions that go beyond their initial purpose and capture audiences based on experiences.

"We value the experimentation, the reformation of the message, and the smart incentives.

We believe in the atypical, and in the principle that says that form follows function.

We celebrate clear messages and intelligent contents."

Specializing in art direction, branding, UX, and UI, Futura has been a been part of many amazing projects resulting in some spectacular packaging designs that have been featured on The Dieline.  The following projects represent Futura’s recent work in which the studio follows a methodology that involves planning, sketching, and analysis before the execution.

EXTRAVIRGEN

Extravirgen is a Mexican brand of natural and organic products, free of gluten, dairy and preservatives. The name makes reference to the positive properties of the products. Our branding solution is based on the value of honesty. We develop a very clear graphic language that gets away from ornaments and distractors. The typography is the main element and a clue to the communication; through hierarchy we gave more importance to the product than to the brand. At the same time, we used a see-through resource in all the packaging. The reason why we get to this solution is because the products are genuinely good and the benefices that offer are so high that they don't need reinterpretations in order to sell. 

The logo’s typography plays with the absence of certain details in the characters, this makes reference to the fact that the products don’t have unnecessary elements that could be harmful to health, keeping and showing only the best part. 

COMUNA

A beautiful and colourful pattern, an interesting typography and a great colour palette are the ingredients behind the branding of Comuna by Mexican agency Futura. Comuna is the reinterpretation of a Mexican “fonda”, little restaurants serving homemade food. In a “fonda” customers are invited to share food, happy moments, new stories and laughters. 

Commenting on the branding of Comuna, the team at Futura says: “Our design is an homage to the unique branding of these places. The lack of technology means that human error in branding happens often: hence, we have highlighted the ‘mistake’ element in our logo as a reference to the owners of the “fondas” who are often chefs, waitresses, cashiers and inexperienced sign-makers at the same time”. 

The branding has been translated on packaging, menus, business cards and the pattern has been reproduced on the walls of the restaurant. “Comuna is an honest place that speaks to people directly. A project that reminds us that we are all human after all.”  

Craft Tamale

Nothing’s better than mom’s cooking. To create the branding for Craft Tamale, a restaurant in San Diego, California, Futura turned to the history of tamales and the traditional way they were made. The result is a modern look infused with culture.

“We took the flavor and tradition of this symbolic dish, and went back on time to realize that most of the Mexicans used to eat this at their Grandmother’s place.  This memory is not only formed by flavor, but it also includes scents and a lot of beautiful details hanging of the walls. That’s why the Branding concept revolves around the cross-stitch. That famous graphic resource that we all know well and somehow it always reminds us that we are safe at ‘Home.’”

The bold, bright hues are contemporary, but also are a hint to colorful homes one might see in a city in Mexico. The cross-stitch is clean and classic, and also gives the restaurant a small-town, local feel. Futura allows the brilliant colors and cross-stitch graphics to do much of the talking for the brand, leaving text minimal. The clean and pure appearance is indicative of the exclusively organic ingredients used in Craft Tamale’s food. 

“Our reinterpretation of this resource combined with the color selection, typographical treatment and the tone of voice, turns Craft Tamale into a brand that knows well its customers and knows exactly how to treat them. Craft Tamale offers a Mexican dish that provokes nostalgia. But the graphic solution makes us want to walk the streets with a cup of hot chocolate (‘Hotter than Jenny’) making people staring and smiling at us.”

POLA FOSTER

"No, this is not a failure on your screen. This is Pola Foster, a project of a Mexican (and very young) entrepreneur who creates handmade shoes in a very personal way. She gives herself to every part of shoes treating them as art pieces." The holographic kicks are stashed inside a black box filled with everlasting color. Designed by Futura, chromatic ribbons in contrast with the black help accentuate the reflective product and evidently creates an optical illusion. 

AHAL

When shopping for bath products, we want something that works well but also something we’re going to like looking at every time we shower. After all, stepping into the bath is more than just time to get clean — it’s premium “me” time. The bright colors and bold font for Ahal’s bath and shower products appease both of those desires: an effective formula and pleasing aesthetics.

“Ahal is a Mexican company that combines worldwide ingredients to create something between herbalism and sustainable cosmetic technology. Their philosophy of using only eco-conscious ingredients and doing things “by hand” adds an immeasurable value to their products. We made the Branding solution considering that despite their handicraft way of doing things, they are certified experts involved in the care of people’s health and the environment.”

Futura's design is minimal, with a number coding to set different products apart instead of various advertised scents. It feels as if it were formulated in a lab, but it doesn’t appear so sterile that it would look out of place in an ordinary bathroom. The colors are bright and optimistic, slightly more saturated than pastel hues but not obnoxiously neon. It possesses personality and an appeal that is perfect for adults looking for inspired bath products that are created with top-notch ingredients.

Mezcal Buen Suceso

The taste of crystal-clear history. Mexicans enjoy celebrating even the smallest of occasions. Halfway along remembering and making new memories: a fine drink that creates a link between past and present. Buen Suceso acknowledges the chromatography of Mexico's cultural landscape, refining it to a sophisticated liquid contained in glass. Fun and vibrant on the outside, clear and elegant on the inside. Mezal Buen Suceso represents the Mexican, sophisticated party. Let's Celebrate.