BEAN & GONE
ARTS AND CULTURE | 2023
Brand identity for a company built around the art of slowing down.
Introduction
Bean & Gone make soy-based candles in vessels designed to be reused. The product itself is a quiet argument against disposability — an everyday object that asks something of the person who buys it, and rewards them for it. The brief was to build a brand identity that carried that ethos without lecturing, something that felt genuinely characterful rather than performing sustainability as a trend. It is a distinction that matters more than it might seem: there is a significant difference between a brand that signals its values and one that embodies them, and that difference lives almost entirely in the quality of the design decisions.
Bean & Gone make soy-based candles in vessels designed to be reused. The product itself is a quiet argument against disposability — an everyday object that asks something of the person who buys it, and rewards them for it. The brief was to build a brand identity that carried that ethos without lecturing, something that felt genuinely characterful rather than performing sustainability as a trend. It is a distinction that matters more than it might seem: there is a significant difference between a brand that signals its values and one that embodies them, and that difference lives almost entirely in the quality of the design decisions.
Services
Bespoke Logotype
Brand Identity and Direction
Packaging Design
Bespoke Logotype
Brand Identity and Direction
Packaging Design
The Challenge
Brands with a sustainability angle can easily tip into listing credentials rather than extending an invitation. The visual language of ethical consumer goods has become its own kind of convention — earthy palettes, rounded sans-serifs, a certain knowing restraint — and working within that convention risks blending into a category rather than defining one. The challenge was to create something warm and singular enough that people genuinely wanted to spend time with it, trusting that the values would come through in the texture of the identity rather than its messaging. Sustainable brand design works best when sustainability is the foundation, not the headline.
The Soltuion
The client gave real creative freedom to explore, which is rare and worth honouring. A system of scent symbols was developed — abstract motifs derived from smoke forms, each one gestural and slightly unpredictable, resisting the kind of finish that makes things feel manufactured rather than made. The ampersand became the unifying element across the identity: a small typographic argument for togetherness and shared moments, for the kind of domestic ritual that a candle, at its best, can hold.
The result is a brand identity that feels handmade without being precious, rooted without being earnest. It sits comfortably alongside the product it represents — an object designed for reuse, carried by a visual language designed to last. Small business branding at its most considered: nothing wasted, everything intentional.
Brands with a sustainability angle can easily tip into listing credentials rather than extending an invitation. The visual language of ethical consumer goods has become its own kind of convention — earthy palettes, rounded sans-serifs, a certain knowing restraint — and working within that convention risks blending into a category rather than defining one. The challenge was to create something warm and singular enough that people genuinely wanted to spend time with it, trusting that the values would come through in the texture of the identity rather than its messaging. Sustainable brand design works best when sustainability is the foundation, not the headline.
The Soltuion
The client gave real creative freedom to explore, which is rare and worth honouring. A system of scent symbols was developed — abstract motifs derived from smoke forms, each one gestural and slightly unpredictable, resisting the kind of finish that makes things feel manufactured rather than made. The ampersand became the unifying element across the identity: a small typographic argument for togetherness and shared moments, for the kind of domestic ritual that a candle, at its best, can hold.
The result is a brand identity that feels handmade without being precious, rooted without being earnest. It sits comfortably alongside the product it represents — an object designed for reuse, carried by a visual language designed to last. Small business branding at its most considered: nothing wasted, everything intentional.
