Pulp_Orchid makes premium, handcrafted soap and bath bombs using only locally-sourced and all-natural ingredients. My role is to give them a visual identity, and an online store.
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Established in 2020, Pulp_Orchid quickly became a local favorite for high-quality, locally-sourced soaps and bath bombs. Two years of growth led to Pulp_Orchid becoming a local staple, but being in a small city like Amarillo, Pulp_Orchid was itching for more.
Our biggest goal was to make sure that Pulp_Orchid’s sparing use of really high-quality ingredients in their products was reflected in the branding. Less is more, was definitely the motto here.
The logo design took its initial inspiration from the blade used to cut out the bars of soap. I wanted to make sure that the logo matched the proportions of the blade, so the logo could be embossed perfectly onto every bar of soap.
The typeface used is Lazzer, by Displaay. Lazzer is a sans-serif typeface inspired by classic cinema, crime, and sci-fi. The narrow proportions, and classical forms lent itself well to the identity Pulp_Orchid was trying to achieve. It’s a unique typeface, with some quirky moments, it’s also contrasty, and legible.
The color palette plays a huge role in creating the visual interest for Pulp_Orchid. The bright, bold, but still comfortable pastel colors were chosen to reflect the colorful ingredients being used.
We decided early on that we didn’t want to have any images on the website. Because, even though Pulp_Orchid’s soap was of a much higher quality than the soap at the local Walmart for example, it doesn't really look any different - it just looks like soap.
A product website without images, was an interesting design problem to have to solve. I landed on the idea of emulating a book sitting on screen. Using a “book” container, I was able to have control over the pages dimensions, which then gave me l full control of the grid structure. Then the grid was created to mimic page layouts from books of history.
It was important to create a final design that is both welcoming to users, and had an ultra simple flow from start to checkout. We tried a number of directions, finally reaching the desired result.
The careful use of whitespace, combined with the light and airy typography, and bold color palette, create a welcoming and comfortable website, that's as unique as the ingredients used to make the soap.
We both felt that the goals of our project were achieved. After presenting final designs and prototypes to various users, we received the feedback that the website was both useful and visually appealing. Pulp_Orchid is now looking forward to getting their online store up and running.
