“Let’s talk about sex,” says Willow Hill, CCO and co-founder of Scout Lab, after we quickly introduced ourselves.
I’ve always found it intriguing that, despite every human being having a body, most are too intimidated to talk about them openly. Hill’s greeting, while unconventional, honestly and instantly opened up our conversation about her recent design work.
Scout Lab, a Queer and BIPOC-owned creative agency, teamed up with CERE, a sexual wellness brand that offers the first-ever pleasure products designed by physicians. Upon first glance, the brand’s packaging system is quite minimalistic, yet when unboxed, you find that they winnowed in on that simplicity with passionate research and a more profound understanding of the sexual wellness space.
“The name CERE is inspired by the word ‘ceremony,’ featuring a short “e” which evokes the glamor of self-care, or the ceremony of self. This take on ceremony adds elegance to the call to action,” mentions Hill, “We are re-framing sexual wellness as something not to be ashamed of but rather, as a form of self-care. Appreciating our bodies for all they’ve carried us through and nurturing them is the essence and elegance of CERE.”
According to Hill, the name is also inspired by the words “cerebral” and “celebration,” creating a space that allows people to honor their self-love while feeling comfortable and confident.
“When researching the products in the sexual wellness space, we went into many sex shops for market research and realized that everything was designed with bright, mostly neon pink, colors,” Hill stated. “CERE is uniquely designed by a physician, and our packaging reflects the simple balance of medical influencer with pleasure-filled excitement.”
While minimalistic, the design holds greater purpose and comfort than other sexual wellness brands’ aesthetics. The brand strives to be a sexual health and wellness company that is accessible to all, and by implementing minimalist design qualities, the brand becomes more approachable to a much wider demographic. If a brand were to use hot pink combined with cliché sexual tropes, the demographic becomes much narrower. Further, the genderless black and white color palette also becomes more accessible, creating a highly approachable branding system.
Hill continued to mention that Scout Lab designed more than the packaging and was involved in strategy, development, brand identity, naming work, and creative production of product photography. Scout Lab also developed CERE’s direct-to-consumer website on Shopify. “In a crowded market where brands are bright with pinks, blues, and tones that denote an outdated prescriptive on gender, our minimal design provides a new scientific approach to luxury,” describes Hill, “The CERE design speaks to people that want a high-end, discrete experience that celebrates sexual wellness as self-care.”
When handling something as delicate as sexual health, it’s critical to remember the comfort levels drastically vary from consumer to consumer. By keeping the packaging minimal and approachable, CERE opens the door to plenty of consumers.
