GeneralPublic Studio draws from French apothecary legacy in its botanical identity for Apoticari

Drawing inspiration from the medicinal traditions of the Hôtel-Dieu in Le Puy-en-Velay, Apoticari celebrates the botanical richness of Auvergne through natural skincare crafted around the region’s endemic plants. The brand represents a living tribute to the area’s herbal heritage, inviting users to slow down and care for themselves with sincerity. It originated from a family-led hospitality project, envisioned by founders Elsa and Claire as a future spa opening in 2026. When searching for a skincare brand that could embody their vision of local plants and their virtues, they realised no existing brand truly captured the spirit of Auvergne and its rich herbal heritage, leading them to create the brand themselves. Paris-based GeneralPublic Studio, founded by Mathilde Lesueur and Jérémie Harper, approached the identity with a clear intention to preserve the simplicity of traditional apothecary labelling while reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens. “The Hôtel-Dieu in Le Puy-en-Velay has a centuries-long tradition of caring for pilgrims on the Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle route using locally grown medicinal plants,” explains Harper. “That heritage, rooted in precise and respectful use of the region’s flora, inspired us to reinterpret those botanical rituals with a contemporary sensibility.” The identity centres around four key elements: typographic pairing, composition, colour and plant illustration. The logo employs an expressive typeface with subtly irregular serifs, revealing the trace of the hand and tool. “For the logotype, we wanted something that felt classic and timeless, with a subtly imperfect, hand-crafted undertone echoing the feel of a traditional, human-scale apothecary rather than a purely digital or industrial aesthetic,” Harper notes.