Personal project · Branding
NKD SKN is a UK-based self-tanning brand targeted at a new generation of creatives. This project establishes a seamless visual identity and packaging system that makes professional self-tanning accessible and effortless.
By structurally updating physical touchpoints — such as the application mitt with a strategic stitch to naturally stretch the user’s hand — the brand delivers an ergonomic usability that perfectly aligns with its modern, elevated identity.
The aims of the project were a cohesive packaging system, and simple methods that make self-tanning easily accessible with professional results for a new generation of young creatives.
Originating from the UK, a region with limited sun exposure, the redesign conceptually brings the physical tanning environment directly to the user. The core motif visualizes the intense midday sun and the short, crisp shadows it casts. This concept is systematically applied across all brand touchpoints, using tanned gold containers to evoke the immediate feeling of rich, sun-touched skin.
The final ‘N’ in NKDSKN is deliberately flipped to visualize the shifting direction of a shadow as the sun approaches and passes midday. This simple yet strategic graphic intervention gives the brand a minimal, modern mood while tightly reinforcing the overarching visual system.
The tanned gold color resembles the feeling of rich, sunlight-touched skin.
Users can perform delicate self-tanning with a gradual tan color and an angular sponge applicator.
The mitt has also been redesigned to be simple and effortless to use. A small stitch fixes its position on the hand so it stays naturally stretched, which means users don’t have to stretch their own hand while applying the lotion.
