ON TELLING WOODLOT’S STORY

The founders each have such a great story, so the new packaging is influenced by their personal histories. That to me was the missing part from their branding and packaging—Sonia being Indian, and Fouad being from Lebanon—they both have such rich personal stories that so are ingrained in how they make their products. To not talk about it visually seemed like a disservice.
Since we didn’t want to overshadow or disrespect the space the brand had already been living in, we didn’t include any patterning on the outside. Instead, we focused on creating a hybrid design to mix the Indian and Lebanese influences, on the inside of the box—which is also a reflection of how Sonia and Fouad built their business. The inspiration for how they were raised is there on the inside, just as that inspiration appears visually within the box.

ON PACKAGE DESIGN AS GIFT-GIVING

Materiality was so important to us: the tactility of how these boxes feel. We’ve always looked at packaging as gifts.
We love picking out gifts for people, but we give enough gifts to ourselves. Since we are consumers, we naturally buy things—
so what better way to utilize the skill set of packaging, than to help people gift something to themselves?

We look at a box as not just a vessel to protect—that is one function of it for sure, to keep the object safe—but how can we make the box look like a gift in a store, and then behave like a gift later on? Say you bought a candle for yourself because it looked interesting or pretty in the store. When you take it home and open it, you’re forced to have a moment with yourself: with the
string tied around the washer, it’s a forced slowness. You can’t just rip it open and throw it away. Instead you start to feel the preciousness of the product, and your personal experience with it. As you open the white box there’s a build-up,
and that surprise splash of colour inside offers a pleasant surge of delight.

To read the full store on the branding and packing:
https://shopwoodlot.com/blogs/news/friends-of-woodlot-margherita-porra-founder-creative-director-of-arithmetic-creative

Designed by: arithmetic _, Canada.