Established in 2010, [color=rgb(128, 128, 128) !important]
Simris Alg is an agribusiness — a good description of which is “agriculture conducted on commercial principles, especially using advanced technology” — growing and harvesting algae in Sweden. One of Simris innovations is the ability to extract the popularly healthy Omega-3 fatty acids from algae, usually found in fish oil, and this year, Simris is launching its first line of consumer products that include a range of Omega-3 supplement pills and other “super foods” like spirulina, chlorella, and other algae-based powders. The new identity and packaging have been designed by Stockholm-based [color=rgb(128, 128, 128) !important]
Snask.
Logo detail (top) and secondary logos.The previous logo was not too bad; someone had a good concept of making a serious-looking wordmark while adding an algae-like flourish to the “g”. The new logo is a fun piece of lettering… for a $- or $$-priced seafood restaurant. It feels out of place as the logo for a technology-driven company doing innovative soylent-green kind of stuff. I would have loved to see a similar script approach but much less informal and it’s not like the logo has to look like if it were for a clinical laboratory in Elysium but something that at least places you in that frame of mind would be a better starting point. To its credit it definitely establishes that this has something to do with the sea.
Brand pattern.Logo in wood on top of pattern.Tape.The secondary elements are fun and have some attractive applications for sure.
Full consumer line-up.The packaging, however, is excellent. There are two bulks of products, each with its own distinct feel.
Omega-3s packaging.Omega-3s packaging, detail.First, there are the Omega-3 products, in deep, dark-hued bottles that avoid the typical brown hue. The big logo and secondary sun graphic pair well here and the overall tightness of the layout makes it feel like whatever is inside will be a burst of algae-ness.
Packaging patterns.Powdered products.Then there is this other range of powdered products that have almost the opposite feel of the bottles: plenty of white space (on a white background) and light and airy typography and graphics. The logo — small! — looks most convincing here in a supporting role. The smooth bags serve as a nice backdrop for the lovely patterns and bright, colorful palette.
Powdered products, detail.Overall, the consumer packaging hits the right notes with the clean typography and illustrations balancing the over-friendliness of the logo and hinting at a unique product. At the corporate level, it’s off target even for an industry (algae) that has still to define a target of what that looks like. (You can peruse [color=rgb(128, 128, 128) !important]
Algae Industry Magazine and [color=rgb(128, 128, 128) !important]
Algae World News for some direction.) If you need me, though, I’ll be scrolling up and down the wave pattern to imagine that I’m sitting by the beach.