Koko Kandles
The client
Koko Kandles is an eco-conscious, coconut, soy wax, candle brand. They aim to provide a more sustainable alternative to self-care by offering candles that are free of parabens, artificial additives and any toxins that are harmful to the environment. Their core values incorporate inclusivity, the promotion of a well-balanced lifestyle, and giving back to the community.
Especially in a time where we crave self-care but are too busy to ‘make time’ for it, Koko Kandles strive to showcase that self-care can be as easy as lighting a candle and being transported to your sanctuary.
THE PROJECT
Brand Design Intensive
Web Design + Development on Wix
Full Packaging Design + Print
Social Media style guide + templates
BEHIND THE BRAND
Koko Kandles draws its brand inspiration mostly from nature, particularly tropical elements that represent the business' values and connection to their home in Jamaica. One of their brand goals is to share a bit of their roots with their audience.
The brand icon, a rough, hand-drawn coconut illustration, highlights the ethically sourced and organic ingredients (coconut soy wax) and their connection to Jamaica.
The brand tone centers around finding moments in one's daily life to slow down, look inward, and prioritize self-care anywhere. It's about intentionally lighting a candle and enjoying activities such as reading a book, meditating, or taking a bath. The sense of smell is used to create a safe space for relaxation and unwinding.
To balance the illustrations, structured Serif fonts with flowy elements were used. This brought a more contemporary and refined element to the brand while grounding the overall identity.
BRAND TONE
Calm, Earthy, Inspirational, Organic, Grounded, Tropical, Understated.
The story behind Koko Kandles is inspired by its founders, Anika and Mickelia, who are originally from Jamaica but are avid travelers. They have visited amazing parts of the world and have always been intrigued by the unique scents and ingredients they have encountered. It was during one of their trips to Japan, amidst the pandemic, that they had the idea to start their own candle business.
The founders named the business after the main ingredient used in all of their candles - coconut soy wax. This ingredient not only has a great scent, but it is also eco-friendly. The name Koko Kandles also has a connection to Jamaica, which is where the founders are originally from.
Their goal with Koko Kandles was to create a business that not only produces high-quality candles, but one that also focuses on self-care and promotes wellness. They wanted to provide their customers with a way to unwind and relax after a long day. With their unique scents and natural ingredients, Koko Kandles is the perfect way to do just that.
CREATING AN UNBOXING EXPERIENCE
In line with the brand's tone and ethos, we created a tropical yet grounded unboxing experience that revolved around the candles and self-care. To emphasize the "hand-made" nature of the candles, we used hand-drawn illustrations in the packaging, similar to the website. To share a bit of their roots in Jamaica with their audience, we illustrated the business's origin story inside each box, creating a more engaging unboxing experience.
The packaging on the outside is kept minimal. However, when opened, it's a burst of color with a sage green box featuring illustrations, terracotta wrapping paper, olive green thank you cards (with a personalized note), and a QR code that directs people to a "candle care" page on the website (increasing web traffic), canary yellow brand stickers, and its all environmentally friendly: recyclable, or reusable materials. The unboxing experience celebrates the tropics while keeping the environment in mind.
BUILDING A DIGITAL WORLD
Koko Kandles had an existing website on Wix, but it didn't fully represent the brand's vision and identity. Since they were already familiar with the platform, we redesigned their website on Wix. Koko Kandles wanted their website to have a fun and colorful tropical feel but in a relaxing, earthy tone, and that's exactly what we delivered.
We used the brand's earthy color palette and created sections that had pops of Canary yellow, Terracotta, and Olive green to represent the brand's eco-conscious efforts.
As a new business, Koko Kandles didn't have many brand photos, so we opted to use illustrations throughout the site that tied into the handmade element of the business and presented a down-to-earth tone. The illustrations also added a lighthearted and fun atmosphere to the web experience.
Kind Words
“We absolutely love the branding and website. It perfectly reflects the vision we had when we started this project.”
We especially loved the colors used in our palette. Our candles are homemade and organic, and these colors represent nature, earth, and recycling. We also loved the branding used for our candles. The hand-drawn illustrations really depict what we stand for, where we've been, and where we hope to take our business in the future.
Our biggest challenge before coming to ADC was a lack of authenticity. Our old website didn't portray who we were, especially as two black girls living in Japan, and why we started this business. It was important for us and our customers to be able to relate to our brand, but also see the uniqueness in what we had created, and ADC absolutely helped overcome this challenge!
The client experience was exceptional. Shenny was warm and friendly, open to our ideas even when we had difficulty verbalizing them. She was thorough and open to criticism/feedback from us, which we greatly appreciated. We definitely felt like our ideas came to life, and we were excited each step of the way to see how she would blow us away next.
To anyone considering working with Alegria Design Co., we say go for it. Even if the ideas don't all make sense, go for it. Sometimes all you need is an expert to conceptualize what you're thinking.
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