The Matcha Kyōto is a modern expression of heritage and craft. Inspired by the tea fields of Uji, Kyoto, the brand captures the quiet beauty and precision of Japanese tea culture.

The identity blends structure and softness, using a restrained grid, minimal typography and natural textures to reflect purity and calmness. Every detail of the identity is designed to be felt as much as seen.

The packaging and printed materials use textured, uncoated stocks to mirror the raw, organic qualities of stone-ground matcha. Subtle grain, soft shadows and fine lines create a quiet tactility that reflects the care behind every handpicked leaf.

Each element of the identity was considered to evoke a sense of calm, craft and connection. A continuation of the brand’s visual language in physical form. From the tea-rich hometown of Uji, Kyōto, to the world.

Collage Skincare is a Wyoming-based skincare brand that views the perfect routine as a collage—thoughtfully assembled to reflect each individual’s unique needs. Centered on the joy of self-care, their products integrate effortlessly into any routine, embracing and celebrating the natural beauty of every skin type rather than focusing on imperfections. Every product is vegan, cruelty-free, and designed to elevate your skincare ritual with purpose and care.

This project highlights one of the brand’s signature products: Butter, reusable under-eye masks infused with moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides, designed to deliver deep hydration and care.

Butter’s identity features the typeface Serial A, a bold grotesk typeface with blurred lines and a strong personality. Inspired by typography found on both analog and digital devices, Serial A perfectly complements Butter’s modern and innovative approach to skincare. The “BUTTER” wordmark uses all-caps FatFrank Heavy, and “use daily for” is in Brush Script. The packaging, designed by Monique Zarbaf, takes inspiration from classic design elements, echoing the iconic look of its eponymous dairy aisle staple.

Bringing together an East Asian drink with Western European Renaissance writing might appear audacious. But in fact it turns out to be an intercultural love match where “craftsmanship” is the core value.

Breathing Tea is a small business based in Hong Kong that fully focusses on producing all sorts of Kombucha tea. As of fall 2024 the firm is represented in six places across Hong Kong and offers an online shop. Name and website of the brand make it clear that the purpose of the enterprise is to offer mindfully handcrafted brews, following the centuries-old tradition.

And it is here where you can see how well the chosen typeface fits in: Francesco was designed by Franck Jalleau on the basis of early Italian Renaissance printing, especially from the presses of Aldus Manutius. The typeface’s name pays tribute to Francesco Griffo who was the punchcutter of Manutius and is seen as one of the central figures in transforming Humanist calligraphy into typography.

Instead of copy-pasting recurring elements of type design, like for instance the serifs, Franck Jalleau strived to emulate the spirit of early punchcutting craftsmanship and to individually balance each letter in its own right, leading to more variation in those details.

Yet Francesco is not a mere revival, but a contemporary take on the Renaissance topic. Most noticeable are certainly the filled black counters of a and e, a characteristic that makes the typeface recognizable and therefore suitable for identity projects. Francesco comes with a variety of stylistic alternates and also provides full Greek and Cyrillic character sets. It was published by Production Type in 2017.

That same year appeared the geometric Halcyon by Jonathan Gibson, the complementary face used on the website of Breathing Tea.

Francesco is used with ample letterspacing. In the logotype, the letter i is represented by the dot only. The compact logo version combines a single letter B (modified to have one open counter) with that floating dot.

Social media typography doesn’t have to be loud or sloppy: a customer testimonial is carefully set using Francesco in roman, italic and small caps, with a discretionary st ligature and hanging punctuation

Box set with two bottles of tea

Homepage

Flavor selection menu

Product page

Kombucha in the making

Just Hand Stuff is a hand balm brand based in Vancouver, Canada. The challenge of designing JHS was to create something different in the market, since skincare brands compete to look like the most beautiful. In this case, we wanted to tell a different story, combining two different aesthetics: streetwear and skincare. As a result, we have a bold, funny, and strong identity that will change the idea of the skincare routine and that connect with the people with a different approach. I used Sharp Grotesk Condensed for the logo and the main information on the label design to bring the streetwear aesthetic to the brand, and Value Serif to complement the style with a friendly touch.

O’Douds is an online shop selling all-natural, ethically-sourced, & vegan-friendly grooming products.

Linotype’s Univers Next Typewriter is used throughout the website.

“HeerenZeep – natural care for beard and body”

Product line for Pappas, “the only barbershop in Utrecht and perhaps in the Netherlands that produces bespoke men's care products according to their own recipe. Only natural products with delicious smells and carefully ‘tested’ on their own customers.”

The product names are set in Nautica (Resistenza) with smaller type in Copperplate Gothic. The four winds around the compass are indicated with capitals from Trajan. Like the nautic-themed design, the language is authentically faux vintage: the copywriter picked modern words, but spelled in a quasi-ancient way.

“Groomingh [sic] Spray”

“Schmeersel – old-fashioned haircare for men”.