Confident and conscious: Marx Design’s Thankyou brand references the past in protecting the future

Founded to challenge global consumerist traits, Australian social enterprise Thankyou is fighting the good fight – one bottle at a time. Available in frosted glass, clear glass and monochromatic aluminium, Thankyou offers a small yet sustainable range of reusable, refillable bottles, investing not only in the planet’s future but also in society as a whole, encouraging communities to consume more mindfully. Mirroring this earnest confidence, New Zealand-based studio Marx Design translated their sincere endeavours into an unflinching, optimistic brand identity – steering clear of superfluous, distracting visual noise or aesthetic tropes, and instead opting for an attentive, purpose-led graphic approach. “We embraced the strength of simplicity in our approach to typography,” Creative Director Ryan Marx tell us, “so it was only natural we chose Neue Haas Grotesk as our hero,” implementing Linotype’s pragmatic powerhouse sans serif to lever the stark, minimalist functionality it offers, most notably in Thankyou’s wordmark. “Lars Mono serves a supporting role in conveying functional and scientific detail,” Marx adds, creating a palpable typographic tension between Bold Decisions’ contemporary monospace and Neue Haas Grotesk’s timeless, yet ultimately classic, forms. “This typographic pairing, along with grids inspired by old newspaper layouts,” he continues, “creates a timeless, utilitarian feel,” grounded by the approachable, lowercase wordmark, whilst providing a compelling arsenal of negative space to liberally enforce throughout. Thankyou’s most prominent use of negative space comes in the conflicting subtle-yet-conspicuous indented, imperfect oval found throughout the packaging design and visual language, a motif introduced to remind the brand’s audience of the influence in embracing one’s flaws. Weaved across Thankyou’s identity, Marx Design’s studious attention to detail is not only apparent here, but also in their approach to colour (or, rather, the lack thereof). “​​Our vision for the range was to be iconic and timeless,” Senior Designer Michaela Spratt recalls, discussing the limited use of monochromatic hues throughout. “In a category dominated by disposable trends, we decided to strip back anything unnecessary,” she continues, “while making sure what remains is purposeful,” in this case, using the brand’s palette as a poignant narrative device. “Thankyou’s is a story of hope – ‘from darkness comes light’,” she concludes, “a sentiment that inspired our colourless approach while retaining cues from the original range.”