Crafting a Unique and Feminine Brand Identity: A So Soapy Case Study

About So Soapy

So Soapy is a small business that produces hand made soap bars in small batches. Natural ingredients and sustainability are very important for the brand. Their product line includes soap bars in different pastel colors, marble designs and beautiful fruity and floral scents.

Brand Personality

So soapy is your young bright eyed friend who knows you the best. She has an extremely calming presence which makes you spill all the beans right away. Not just that, her kind hearted nature makes you feel comfortable and allows you to be vulnerable. She is the embodiment of elegance serenity, and all the things that make this world a beautiful place.

Target Audience

The attraction of all things handmade has been on the rise in recent years.

People are interested in supporting small businesses and buying products that have a more personal touch to them. Also, handmade soaps are also usually made with high-quality ingredients and attention to detail. They are often made exclusively from natural or organic materials and so are appealing to people who only buy eco-friendly products.

Demographically speaking, So soapy’s target audience are mostly millennials or Gen-Zs who have higher disposable income and belong to first world countries. This market is more likely to support small businesses as well as be more environmentally conscious.

The Mood board

When I started working on this brief, the mood board seemed a bit challenging - the reason being the personality or the product was not very distinctive from its competitors. After all, don’t most soap brands have a feminine, elegant and luxurious vibe?. So the visual direction for its branding had to be substantially different. In addition to that it also needed to be feminine, elegant, luxurious as well as organic.

I spent almost 3 hours on pinterest, trying to find the perfect inspiration. With almost a 100 pins on my board, It was time to start shortlisting the images - and even though it was all pretty, it didn’t feel very ‘So Soapy’. What can I say - my perfectionist brain is not very easily satiated. After a brief coffee break I looked towards a source of inspiration which never disappoints me - YouTube! And it didn’t - just 15 minutes into my search, I ran into Mina Okabe’s song - Every Second.

The visuals of this music video is so soothing and elegant that not only did it become my inspiration for this brand’s core aesthetics but I added it to my own playlist as well (the cherry on top). If you watch the video, and then take a look at this mood board - you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Concept Elements

When it came to choosing the core elements for the logo, I didn’t want to settle on a cliche choice such as bubbles or water. Not only are these elements overused in the industry but also restricts the brands growth in terms of product line i.e. when the brand wants to expand and launch a line (which it plans to) of perfumes or sunscreens, ‘bubbles’ won’t really match the product line. Hence, the elements need to be an overarching theme encompasses all the core values, aesthetics and personality traits without diluting any of them. Don’t get me wrong - bubbles are great and can’t be excluded because the brand’s name is ‘So Soapy’. They can be a supporting visual element but shouldn’t be the central element if the brand is looking for a timeless logo.

The Final Concept

5 cups of coffee and almost 10 iterations later, I found the perfect combination of elements, colours and typography which is feminine, elegant, organic as well as feels luxurious. Let me walk you through it -

1. The feminine figure is the central character of the logo which automatically makes the brand feel relatable to its key demographic & exudes femininity.

2. The secondary shape is that of a stained glass which is considered soothing, serene and often associated with places of worship. Hence by extension- one can say that the brand stands for the worship of femininity. The shape language of this element also speaks volumes i.e. the curved edge helps bring in the wholesomeness, while the straight edges bring in structure.

3. Instead of bubbles, as a tertiary element I chose sparkles / 4 point stars which denote cleanliness and shininess i.e. the core value proposition of the product.

4. The colour scheme chosen speaks for itself but what’s the point of this article if don’t explain it right? So, the combination of pink and off white brings in the femininity and elegance while the purple brings in the much needed luxury. I think three colours are more than enough when the subject of the project is as focused on minimalism and elegance as ‘So Soapy’

5. The font chosen is very fluid and that’s the core reason of why I went with it. The soft edges are necessary to communicate the organic nature of the product and this particular font does the job very well, don’t you think.

6. This whole design works very well because all the elements interact with each other without increasing the cognitive load of the audience. However, the elements are not as common and thus become more memorable when used together in a defined rhythm.