Óura's Branding Makes Use Of Paper Scraps And Creates An Organic Look

Sustainable lifestyle brand Óura, based in London, makes hand-poured vegan and cruelty-free candles and lip balms scented with 100% essential oils. All of their products get packaged in reusable and recyclable materials, such as glass, metal, and craft paper. 

And despite all of those sustainable bona fides, Óura wanted a unique identity that spoke to its values while standing out in a crowded lifestyle space. So, the brand enlisted self-taught designer Michael Arnold to create the identity, branding, and packaging, bringing his bold and colorful style to Óura.

Arnold set to work on creating a wordmark using Big Caslon with wispy ligatures meant to invoke smoke emanating from a candle’s wick. The typography choice imparts an upscale classiness and elegance to the brand, while the use of Andale Mono adds a bit of whimsy and fun to compliment Caslon, providing balance to the visual identity.

Bucking the minimalist trend in the lifestyle space, Michael Arnold went with bold, organic shapes of color that he based on the fragrance, to adorn the packaging and gift message cards. Arnold created a series of graphics created out of paper scraps, and the texture and ripped edges lends depth and an organic feel that is on-point for the vegan, cruelty-free, and sustainable brand. The gift message cards use the same ripped paper forms to create tulips, monsteras, and bonsai trees.

Óura candles and balms are available from their Etsy page.