Turner Duckworth Balances Needs of Heritage Brand
Kimberly-Clark has partnered with Turner Duckworth to create a new global visual identity for Kleenex, to bring cohesion across all markets while also infusing the brand with a more distinct personality.
Over the years, Kleenex had strayed from a clear brand identity. “This year, Kleenex celebrates 100 years of being the brand that people trust in so many of life’s vulnerable moments, and it was important to use this particular moment to reinforce that brand love and loyalty,” says Jennifer Kasmarick, Director of Global Creative Excellence for Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex. “By using the power of design – creating a cohesive, meaningful and distinctive brand identity – Turner Duckworth helped us strengthen our connections with people across the world.”
Another challenge for the brand across all markets is increased competition from a range of established players, private label brands, and newer-to-market producers. Kleenex is also faced with the reality that people more commonly substitute toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and, yes, sleeves in lieu of their flagship product.
“While many competitors far and wide claim to make facial tissues, there is only one Kleenex,” says Andy Baron, Executive Creative Director at Turner Duckworth. “Every square inch of the new visual identity is designed to reinforce the brand’s category leadership (and invention, for that matter) through a suite of carefully designed distinctive assets, and a system that brings them together.”
Turner Duckworth also introduced a clearer sense of personality that captures Kleenex’s role in life’s unexpected moments.
Futureproofing A Heritage Brand
While the Kleenex wordmark script has taken various forms since 1924 (most notably Saul Bass’ 1961 rendition), its use globally has been challenged in recent history. Several versions of the script were in rotation, and a wide variety of legibility-protecting, functional containing shapes had been introduced. Turner Duckworth set out to solve two challenges with one solution: a singular logo to be used everywhere, and a singular, meaningful containing shape that ensures the legibility of the script in all contexts.
At the heart of the new visual identity is a new crown holding device that houses the existing and iconic Kleenex script and creates a singular expression for the logo. That meaningful containing shape is also the heart and soul of the new visual identity. Inspired by a crown icon that had previously played a minor supporting role in several markets, Turner Duckworth elevated it to play lead actor.
Metaphorically, a crown reinforces both Kleenex’s leadership status, as well as its core brand idea of delivering strength in everyday moments. Formally, it ergonomically hugs the script as if the script itself was drawn to inhabit it. And strategically, the crown has been drawn to hint at the shape of Kleenex’s flagship product. The comfy curves of both the script and new distinctive crown have inspired almost all aspects of the rest of the identity—particularly its typography and illustration.
Illustrations, Color and Type
While Turner Duckworth balanced the task of updating a heritage brand to feel relevant with respect for existing Kleenex assets, there was also an opportunity to inject a more distinctive personality. Every new asset has been designed to balance a communication of strength with an equal balance of warmth that has implicitly been a part of the brand for decades. While the new logo, color palette and typography set the foundation, a new approach to illustration drives it home.
The new visual identity introduces a new core color palette that elevates Kleenex Blue as the anchor color for the brand. It will be used consistently to reinforce the brand across touchpoints and markets to build equity with consumers. The secondary palette reinforces the strength and maturity, offering more variety and depth within the system.
Working with type designers Alec Tear and Lewis Macdonald, Turner Duckworth developed a bespoke primary typeface, Kleenex Serif. It showcases the brand’s strength and allows Kleenex to speak in a range of tones across a spectrum of stories.
Visually, the font is heavily inspired by the Kleenex script itself, and mirrors some of its nuanced details. It also shares formal qualities with the new crown symbol.
Acting as a distinctive new asset, illustrations charmingly communicate moments where the brand plays a role, from fighting seasonal allergies, to wiping away tears of joy, and are drawn to reinforce some of the formal cues established by the new crown symbol — in particular, its soft wave motif. They also help to establish and double-down on the new core color palette as a way to solidify its equity.
The new Kleenex brand identity is rolling out initially in North America.
