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Marin 真凛
Bachelor degree graduation project / Mid Sweden University, Sweden
>> The project was presented and exhibited at the municipal library of Sundsvall, May 2019.
The task was to provide an integrated scientific and artistic view on how commercial packaging can contribute to sustainable development. My solution came in the form of Marin 真凛, a brand where the products are replacing a couple of plastic hygienic articles in the bathroom to a more sustainable alternative. The three main products are bamboo toothbrushes, silk dental floss, and toothpaste tablets. This brand is focusing on two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN. They are Objective 12; Sustainable consumption and production, and Objective, 14; Sea and marine resources. The inspiration throughout the whole project has been Japan where it started with my name, Malin. To make a long story short. After a semester as an exchange student in Japan, I learned that the pronunciation of my name in Japanese was Marin. Marine is a word which in many cultures associates with sea life. I wanted to focus on reducing the waste in our oceans, by preventing plastic pollution. Marin is an honest brand that wants to do good for the environment. The kanji characters 真(ma) together with 凛(rin), means truthfulness. ”The fact of being true”, is what Marin as a brand strives for.
The logo is designed in a playful way which makes it possible to change its shape. The Japanese language is a complex character-based language and can be read both horizontally (left-to-right), and vertically from top to bottom (right-to-left). This was an important aspect when designing the brand’s logo - I had to make sure it was possible to read the kanji characters in both ways. The logo is built up of three blocks. The first block includes the symbolic red circle from Japan’s flag. The second one with the brand's name MARIN, and the third block contains the two kanji characters. Together these three blocks symbolize a traditional slide screen in Japan, called shōji.
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The packaging design is inspired by different Japanese elements. Noren, which is a traditional Japanese fabric divider, blue water where the colorful koi fishes swim, the shōji screen, and the paper lantern. The material of the packaging is made of paper and not plastic. The transparent paper emphasizes a clean and sterile feeling which is an important aspect when it comes to hygiene articles.
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The non-plastic products without their packaging. The clean feeling still remains and an association with a more sustainable product appears thanks to the bamboo material. Here, the silk dental floss, the original glass jar for the toothpaste tablets, the bamboo toothbrush and the travel bamboo case for toothbrushes are displayed.
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A graphic element in Marin’s visual identity is the red circle inspired by the Hanko stamp.
The Hanko stamp is often used as a personal signature in countries of east and south Asia. The stamp is mostly designed with the person's name or surname.
In this identity, the Hanko stamp includes the kanji characters 真(ma) and 凛(rin) shown, which together means truthfulness.
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