A Friend of Mine’s identity for Arné Skincare creates graphic tension between type and texture

Melbourne-based design studio A Friend of Mine have worked with Kiwi skincare brand Arné to develop a serene, typographically-led identity; utilising texture and simplicity to achieve a tranquil tone akin to the brand’s considerate, organically-orientated, anti-pollution products. With this environmental focus in mind, A Friend of Mine’s Creative Director Suzy Tuxen tells us “we created a custom logotype with circular counters in the ‘A’ and ‘R’ that respectively reference the hole in the ozone layer caused by air pollutants,” a graphic device that also references the microscopic holes within Nutrifilm – the active solution in Arné’s products. This duality and contrast exhibited in the logomark is an underlying theme laced across the identity, similarly manifesting in the use of charcoal textures to abstractly represent the pollution Arné is fighting against, and the use of a stark, monochromatic colour palette. “Photography is used to introduce colour to the brand,” Tuxen explains, “the lush skin tones of the art direction pop beautifully against the monochromatic backdrop,” she adds, similarly noting the occasional use of peach as the secondary colour to reference these hues.