JDO Re-imagines Finnish Beauty
Founded in 1970, Nordic beauty brand Lumene is revered and trusted in its native Finland, but its packaging and core brand needed updating to reflect the company’s forward thinking approach, and increase appeal in new and flourishing markets. Lumene partnered with JDO to create a new identity, and relaunch and expand their multiple skincare ranges around the globe.
Lumene’s ‘Beauty Born of Light’ proposition is inextricably linked with the wilderness of northern Finland and its climate of extremes. After months of darkness through the winter, the region is bathed in continual daylight, prompting a burst of intense plant growth with concentrations of nutrients not found elsewhere. These potent ingredients: tree bark, berries, roots and spring water are carefully harvested to instill unique properties into Lumene’s skincare formulas, capturing the essence of Nordic beauty.
Developing a unique visual identity for Lumene was imperative to stand out in an exceptionally competitive category. The JDO team sought inspiration outside of the beauty category and adopted ‘Nordic Chic’ as the visual anchor for the project. This vision draws on emerging trends from the fashion world, infused with simple Scandinavian and premium category cues.
JDO crafted character into the new bespoke logotype with angular strokes and slightly extended crossbars to allude to its Scandinavian roots. We also created the ‘wheel of light’, a powerful, iconic and scalable equity that cues the brand’s rich provenance story across all touchpoints, from smallest pack to the animated wall-size version in the flagship store in Helsinki.
When it came to individual product ranges, each variant uses an organic Finnish ingredient known to have naturally occurring but powerful therapeutic properties. Hence each pack needed distinct character to reflect the use of unique ingredients, at the same time as fitting into a clear and navigable structure and hierarchy covering over a hundred SKUs from everyday cleansers, to super-premium anti-aging elixirs.
The refreshed identity and packaging elevate Lumene to a new level of premium communication, and celebrate its heritage and provenance in a calm and assured way befitting of the brand. It now has the credentials to stand shoulder to shoulder with the most premium competitors throughout the world.
After the successful launch of the skincare range, JDO went on to rejuvenate Lumene’s make-up range, men's range and create the brand’s entire retail experience worldwide. Crucially, the wheel of light has become a pivotal storytelling strategy for Lumene that will go on to help the team to communicate Finnish beauty, deeply distilled with luminosity, in a consistent way.
The Lumene relaunch had to be as unique as it did unified. Our design needed to excite and inspire people with what’s new, but at the same time, leverage the brand’s rich heritage and values. Great design can evoke positive emotions and tell a story of integrity, authenticity, originality, and beauty. The Lumene re-launch is a perfect accolade to that.
It’s beauty that is pure and uncompromising, not self-indulgent or complicated. Lumene symbolizes the natural strength born from the Finnish environment and the unmistakable glow that Finnish women take with them wherever they go.