BINU BINU founder Karen Kim approached us to establish a brand identity for her brand of modern soaps centred around the ethos and cultural resilience of the jjimjilbang (Korean public bathhouse). The visual system we developed honours the brand’s heritage, which pays tribute to the rituals, communal and self-care for which the jjimjilbang sets the scene. Referencing the graphic forms of bathhouse architecture, a structured packaging suite accommodates three languages – Korean, English and French – across a carefully calibrated system equipped to showcase an extensive product range.

To unite the diversity of BINU BINU’s products and typographic forms, we realised a calm and cohesive presence through a tonal palette drawn both from bathhouses and the brand’s soaps. Referencing both Hangul characters and traditional Korean architectural forms, a monogram provides the brand its trademark, while typographic clarity lends the collection a tightly edited feel. Departing from the high polish typical of beauty industry imagery, fine-grained film photography by Hyunsung Park’s "Bathhouses in Seoul" focuses on the tactile experiences of bathing rituals and the material pleasure of the objects themselves.

Extending BINU BINU’s visual coherence to the products themselves, a completely reimagined packaging range saw us swap the brand’s previous use of soft plastic soap bags for recyclable materials and a flat pack ready dieline system, equipped for eventual expansion to a range of over 50 SKUs. True to the brand’s inspirations, BINU BINU is stocked in a wide range of international specialty stores who value its heritage and share its appreciation of form.