An environmental cleaning brand that avoids a “generic” eco tone

Design studio SomeOne has designed the visual identity for Ocean Saver, a cleaning product that uses dissolvable pods to avoid waste.

London-based studio SomeOne has created the new visual identity for Ocean Saver, including packaging design, brand strategy and tone of voice.

Ocean Saver is a range of plant-based cleaning solutions, which takes the form of cleaning pods. These pods can be dissolved in water and kept in a reusable and recyclable spray bottle, in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste.

It also seeks to create a more environmentally-friendly production cycle, by reducing transportation of water which means fewer vehicles on the road. The brand uses recyclable and biodegradable materials for their products.

“Humorous activist”

The branding plays on the product’s more unusual positioning. Tone of voice was particularly important in setting Ocean Saver apart from its competitors – taking on the voice of a “humorous activist”. SomeOne’s founder David Law says that the tone of voice is “designed to be positively provocative”.

He says it speaks to “all of us that know that the cleaners we use are mainly bad for the environment, while appealing to the ocean lovers in us”. To appeal to this more nature-loving side in customers, the studio tapped into the seaside which is a “particularly powerful memory for many”, from childhood holidays to the scents of the sea.

This tongue-in-cheek positioning extends to a “cheeky label” which is designed to look like several labels stuck together which you can attach to another bottle, thereby changing the branding. “This means you can reuse an old bottle and know what’s in it,” Law says.

Avoiding “eco” stereotypes

For the packaging itself, a wave motif has been used in a blue-based colour palette. This “bold” and “graphic” identity is an attempt to move away from well-trodden “eco” stereotypes such as “natural green colours, recycles logos, hand drawn type and illustration”.

It was also an attempt to set the brand apart from “worthy” start-ups and create something attention-grabbing on the “tiny” packs. Different colours are used to denote the specific uses for each product, from floor cleaner to kitchen surfaces.

A poster campaign continues the wave-theme, with lines such as ‘Wave bye bye to plastic’ and labels that read: ‘I am an ocean saver’.