Anya Hindmarch works with Studio Frith and Anyways to launch candle range, Anya Smells

Date
8 November 2017
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Anyways: Anya Smells Instore, photography by GG Archard

Fashion accessories brand Anya Hindmarch has released a playful candle range called Anya Smells, working with London design agencies Studio Frith and Anyways on its brand identity and launch event. The range is based on recognisable scents infused with nostalgia, and its humorous name continues the brand’s approach to poke fun while remaining highly refined.

Each candle is the result of a collaboration between Anya and independent British perfumer Lyn Harris, creating candles which produce the aroma of sun lotion, baby powder and coffee. To represent the brand’s personality, Studio Frith has created an expressive visual identity showing smiling or shocked faces, using Rubix Cube-like, sculptural packaging for users to play with.

“The function of the packaging was firstly to sell and secondly to have an afterlife," says Frith. "To create a desire for the box that is separate to the candle.”

To do so, Frith applied what it calls “the mantlepiece test” evaluating "if packaging be an object in its own right?” This entailed applying characteristics that allow the packaging to “connect with a human emotional experience in a humorous non-pretentious way,” the design team explains. “We started thinking about how we could use Anya’s word play by utilising the split between different sides of the box to make different messages. The boxes could be playful, kind of like a game.” It displays the brand’s unique ability for “combining the high and low,” inspired by Rachel Whiteread’s sculptures and Baldessari’s nose for the in-store graphics, in order to create branding that is sophisticated but still approachable.

This branding has been interpreted by London-based creative agency Anyways, creating an in-store installation and promotional film for the Anya Smells campaign. Continuing Anya’s ethos to “recreate the everyday in an extraordinary way,” the studio builds upon the brand’s amusing approach to “emphasise the idea of scent and smell with a large sculptural nose,” it explains.

As a result, the promotional film created by Anyways and Pavilion Works “uses the nose as a chucklesome storytelling device to explore the three scents of the candles,” says the studio. “The film follows a miniature train set carrying nostalgic memories with jolly sound effects,” such as regrettable tan lines and holiday romance tears for the sun lotion candle, or morning papers and snooze buttons for the coffee edition. “As the train travels through the nose, which acts as a tunnel, each are transformed into the three Anya Smells candles.” Also utilising Studio Frith’s sculptural packaging, the short animates the facial expressions on the designs, “reacting as it goes on a transformative journey”.

Anyways’ nose and model train set was on display for the launch event in store, creating a large centrepiece for customers to view. “Mimicking the film, it featured the model train winding around an elevated track through the monochrome packaging with both real and nostalgic ingredient notes displayed alongside the candles.”

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Studio Frith: Anya Smells

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Studio Frith: Anya Smells

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Anyways: Anya Smells Instore, photography by GG Archard

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About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

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