THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS BAD SKIN, ONLY BAD SKINCARE.
As the Mother Dirt team prepared to reformulate their product, SMAKK reformulated the brand.
INTRODUCTION
Mother Dirt is a line of skincare products that uses billions of live bacteria (the good kind!) to restore skin’s natural microbiome. As the team prepared to relaunch their product line, they came to SMAKK to re-evaluate their brand identity and approach to communicating with consumers.
WHY WE LOVED THIS PROJECT
When it comes to skincare, we’re all about products that are more than skin-deep. Far from a superficial solution, Mother Dirt is a science-backed brand birthed by MIT researchers. Due to this origin story, the project’s key challenge was communicating a scientific story in a way that would connect with people on an emotional level. To get started, we conducted social listening and cultural research, and we were inspired by what we saw: a movement of self-acceptance when it came to skin conditions like acne and eczema. And as proponents of a balanced microbiome, Mother Dirt had a place in this conversation. Many modern skincare products are full of preservatives and other chemicals that hurt the skin’s “good bacteria,” causing a slew of skin conditions and creating a vicious cycle of using more skincare products to correct problems caused by skincare. By owning “skin wellness” rather than “skincare,” we adopted a position that was culturally relevant, differentiated, and true to Mother Dirt’s purpose.
WHAT WE DID
When it came to developing visuals, we looked to the thriving microbiome for inspiration. The dynamic logo boasts a variable height letterform treatment that "grows" – reflecting the live bacteria as well as a journey with peaks and valleys that are ever-evolving. Also central to the identity is a circular mark mirroring the red flower-like structure of the bacteria itself. Floral imagery also came into play for photography, which was used to build out the campaign across all channels. Alongside the visuals, we developed a suite of copy conventions that explained the product’s active ingredients simply, and with a sense of personality. Leading up to launch, we applied our new visuals and brand voice to the brand’s website, packaging, and e-commerce shipping system.
