Client • Silk Inc   Agency • R/GA       — 2020

Brand World — Evolved By Nature

We are in the midst of an invisible crisis: on and in nearly everything we buy are petrochemicals that can build up in our water and food supplies and our bodies. Consumers are becoming more savvy and demanding a better way. The scientists at Silk Inc. invented just that: pure silk protein, from natural silk cocoons, in liquid form. Not only is this technology nontoxic to people and the planet, it can also match or outperform the benefit of the petrochemicals it replaces, and so it can work with any partner brand, on any product, in any industry. Silk, Inc. needed a brand that could help potential partners and the public understand and embrace this invisible technology’s potential —and ultimately, start a green chemistry movement.

Strategy —  

We framed the opportunity for Silk Inc. to disrupt the petrochemical industry by positioning themselves as a green chemistry company. We designed a B2B2C approach to market direct to consumers, collaborate with existing mission-driven brands, and sell their hero technology to a variety of manufacturers. Guiding every decision was a new Active Purpose that captured the company’s role in and impact on the world. To organize Silk’s existing portfolio and guide growth in new industries and price points, they needed a simple brand architecture with one brand that could evolve to all the different industries and partners they would be working in and with.

The Name —  

Our client's primary mission is to help other company's create greener products, and secondary goal is to help educate the public (and their partners) on understand the invisible problem (and the invisible solution).The power of the name is that it is designed to solve these two challenges. It's a phrasal name that when paired with a brand or product, communicates the partner entity has been moved forward (i.e. Chanel*Evolved By Nature). The phrasal name is also used and expanded upon in a system that helps our client communicate their product benefits.​​​​​​​

The Design System —  

Because our name, Evolved By Nature, was designed to help us have a conversation with partners and consumers, we built a connected brand system driven by language. The brand mark inspired by the asterisk, which traditionally hides information, gives us a platform for bringing hidden information—both about the problem and solution—to the fore.  We created a custom variable typeface that was further programmed to dynamically evolve in real time when adding an asterisk to a word. The use of sans and serif reflect and capture the power of nature and science coming together. The asterisk is the catalyst, it sparks the evolution and suggests there is more to know. The verbal system, designed to work flexibly and dynamically with the visual and behavioral systems, emphasizes the power of the product and the collective, balancing education with inspiration, honesty with positivity.

The Typeface —  

We worked with Mathieu Réguer to design and create a variable typeface with a built in algorithm that allows users to visually create the evolution between characters by simply adding an asterisk as they type. Designing a typeface with a wide range of variability was paramount for this brand, as it allowed the brand to show up in different ways for the different industries and partners it works with, as well as embodying the spirit of the brand and name by ensuring the brand is seen as constantly evolving.

Credits — R/GA

Augustus Cook, Ryan Atkinson, Mathieu Geguer, Gavin Shapiro, Andy Green, Kayla Watson, Bruno Cafe, Jennifer Vano, Alexis Waller, Corey Lewis, Mike Rigby, Sam McGuinness