SOCIO designs the identity for Modern Chemistry, a Boots own brand — The Brand Identity – Home of the Greatest in Graphic & Brand Design

Modern Chemistry is Boots’ advanced skin and nutritional health brand, with an ingredient-led range developed by the British pharmacy chain’s in-house team of pharmacists, doctors, nutritionists, biochemists and cosmetic chemists. London-based creative studio SOCIO was commissioned to create the brand strategy, identity, packaging system and art direction. “Boots approached us with the name Modern Chemistry and a clear vision to create a heritage-inspired own brand focused on affordable, high-performing formulations for skincare and supplements,” Creative Director Brendan Smith tells us. SOCIO describes the range as one that makes rigorous science both desirable and accessible, with products as covetable as the world’s best independents.

Boots’ own brands like No7 and Soltan have sold products and formulations since the 1930s, and have built an incredibly loyal customer base and are easy to return to. “Modern Chemistry has been an opportunity to tap into new audiences, specifically those that look for ingredient-led formulations that audiences from other Boots own brands wouldn’t seek. It’s also been an opportunity to serve audiences that are priced out of expensive, high-performing skincare and supplements,” Smith explains. The range sells for £4.50 to £20. SOCIO introduced a ‘By Boots’ lock-up to signpost that Modern Chemistry is a Boots own brand, with other nods to Boots in the messaging on primary and secondary packs.

The name Modern Chemistry comes from Boots’ origins as a chemist. Boots began in 1849, when John Boot opened a herbalist shop in Nottingham, and by 1895, it was pioneering analytical chemistry as a means of quality control. “We worked closely with Boots to understand which parts of their heritage to carry forward, including trips to the archives in Nottingham, consultation with their historian and the own brand team to curate inspiration found in the archive. From bottle shapes, graphic shapes in old advertisements and journals to lab instruments, we collectively landed on a direction that is a modernised depiction of Boots’ heritage in analytical chemistry and product formulation,” Smith details. The brief asked for something new for a Boots own brand, so SOCIO began by moving away from some of the packaging codes that are common in the category at affordable price points. “We also steered away from overt heritage cues that risked reading as a pastiche of Boots’ history,” Smith notes.

“The Modern Chemistry logo is intentionally split in half. As a whole, it signifies the process of analytical chemistry. The triangle represents a conical funnel found in the archives, with the square symbolising the final product formulation created,” Smith reveals. The Modern Chemistry wordmark is a bespoke logotype drawn in-house. The accompanying typography is set in Dinamo’s warm yet sharp grotesque ABC Diatype, chosen for the neutrality and functionality that the packaging and brand required; SOCIO also needed it to perform well at all sizes and endure long-term.

SOCIO designed all the products together as a system, with Boots’ vision for the range architecture across skincare and supplements clear from the beginning. The studio set out all the packaging formats and scaled the logo and type system accordingly, with the technical production requirements in mind. It also rationalised the label system and typography across the whole product line-up for as much consistency as possible. SOCIO kept two of the category’s conventions: droppers for controlled dispensing and a naming system that communicates with clarity. On pack, SOCIO opted for a large Modern Chemistry logo to serve as a graphic device. “It makes the brand findable and sparks curiosity at the shelf edge,” Smith explains. Most primary vessels have that logo, with the essential product information placed inside it, while the larger volume of copy sits on the secondary packs. The small ‘MC’ logo is used on smaller vessels and cartons, with a solid white field alongside it for the product information.

“We simplified the packaging system so that ingredients, application guidance, benefits and function are incredibly clear on pack. We let the science behind Modern Chemistry’s formulations be front and centre, rather than the design overtly performing a scientific visual language,” Smith details. “‘Follow the Formula’ is the brand’s essence that carries that same scientific ethos into the verbal identity. The essence invites customers to either follow Boots recommendations on product pairings or discover their own formula by layering skincare and supplements into a routine centred around their own health goals,” Smith concludes.