Featured image for Designed By Matte Black, Detox Mode Releases Their First Product, Altogether Oil

Designed By Matte Black, Detox Mode Releases Their First Product, Altogether Oil

by Casha Doemland on 01/07/2019 | 3 Minute Read

With the new year just around the corner,  the desire to rid yourself of all the filth, drama and dead weight is at an all-time high. After all, the saying "new year, new me" hasn't stood the test of time for nothing.

One company, in particular, strives to empower you to ditch the negativity and nonsense all day every day and to show yourself the love and care you deserve. Venice Beach clean and toxic-free beauty company The Detox Mode wants you to kick all things virulent to the curb, from your shady ex, right down to your beauty products filled with parabens and synthetic fragrances.

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Now, with their new Altogether Oil (a dry oil for your body with grapeseed, jojoba, and macadamia oils) gearing up to launch, The Detox Market enlisted Matte Black, a Los Angeles creative and branding agency to produce the dreamy designs that celebrate the human form and clean beauty.

We spoke with Matte Black founder Chelsea Matthews about all things Detox Mode and the secret behind their stunning packaging.

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Walk us through the design process, how did you go from start to finish on this project?

The process was very thorough. One of the benefits in this partnership was the opportunity to spend time in the upfront thinking through our key differentiators, the overarching positioning, and our color. The team knew they wanted to create something different than a lot of what they saw on the shelves The Detox Markert. "Gourmand" was a word we clung on to from the very beginning.

Once we had really dialed in the playful, quirky direction and vibrant color palette, we started moving through identity and mark systems. We knew we needed something classic, but with architectural integrity. The logo and mark we landed on were from the very first presentation. Even though we explored others, we all returned to this one because it just felt right.

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Then, we moved through the packaging process with a multi-SKU product line in mind (they will be releasing their next product in January). We worked through finding the right sustainable options for the packaging spec and materials and began to design around those. We also knew early on that illustration or print was going to play into our packaging in some way, and so we played around, finally landing on a partnership with Regina Yazdi.

Lastly, we moved into photography, web design and voice via bringing the brand to life prior to launch.

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What was the significance behind the color palette? 

As I mentioned earlier, ‘gourmand’ was a word we took inspiration from throughout the design process.

We often questioned designs by asking if it was gourmand enough. The color palette was inspired by macaroons you would find in France (the founder of Detox Mode is originally from there).

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What’s the inspiration behind featuring an outline of the human form on the box? 

We wanted to celebrate the human form, with an emphasis on the female form as Detox Mode is a predominantly female-targeted brand, despite the collection being unisex.How did you tell Detox Mode’s brand story through the packaging?One of the brand’s main statements is to "ditch the toxic things in your life." It’s a playful way of addressing all the terrible stuff we put on our bodies but has a flirty, female undertone—which we feel comes through in the design and packaging in a sophisticated way.

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