Can we ditch discrete period branding? Halia says yes with “loud” identity

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, period branding is long overdue an overhaul. Halia is the latest brand subverting harmful tropes pushed by the period industry – namely that they’re shameful and that only women have them – with a new identity from California-based designer Katrina Romulo helping to shift the narrative.

Halia is a Philippines-based brand offering plastic and toxin-free period pads made of organic bamboo and corn fibres. Tasked with visualising the brand’s mission to redefine the period experience as one that is “enjoyable and free from environmental guilt”, Katrina went bold for the identity. “I wanted to design something loud because periods have long been a stigmatised experience that we don’t talk about,” the designer tells It’s Nice That. The branding includes an identity, packaging and a new website from Odin & Grotesk and Yello Studio.

Opting for saturated pinks, greens, and purples, from pastel to neon to dark, Katrina used playful colour pairings on the packaging. Elsewhere, the designer incorporated a thick serif and a grotesque font for bold headers and catchy taglines. Illustrations showing people in dynamic positions feature throughout the branding, “to keep with the energetic and upbeat mood”.

Katrina adds: “One of my favourite elements is the “H” brandmark. It is a freeform H with lots of curves created by drawing two pads and connecting them. The two connected pads represent the two types of pads that Halia currently offers – the Regular and Super. The wordmark has rounded letters (we really love the gentle sloping of the a’s) that speak to the brand’s friendly and approachable demeanour.”