Morning People — Mariam Khalifah

Morning People is a clean, sustainable, cruelty-free skincare brand for all mankind, born out of Jasmyn Wilkins’ vision to inspire people to find their peace and happiness through something as simple as a self-care routine. The brand creates Vitamin C and CBD-infused products made for people who want their skin to feel as strong and healthy as their minds can be. Morning People’s ethos is rooted in giving back to the community and empowering consumers to go about their days with self-love, fearlessness, and confidence.

Jasmyn Wilkins is an American fashion model, mental health and wellness activist, social media personality, and actress. Her main goal is to make people struggling with hardships, mental health, and stigma reclaim their power.

The client requested a fresh brand identity that encapsulates the brand’s purpose, evoking the nostalgia and the authentic feel of what mornings are for people all around the world. Jasmyn aimed for a brand identity that connects with conscious and strong-willed people on a human level through a mix of bold and soft elements, elevated by a youthful and gritty tone of voice.

Mariam Khalifah took on the project enthusiastically, as the brand values align with hers perfectly. She took inspiration from the name and concept to develop a strong, sleek, and coherent visual system that feels empowering and unapologetic.

Mariam started by performing thorough market research to ensure the branding accurately reflects the essence of Morning People and its pledge to bring awareness to the global mental health movement, focusing on the POC experience.

She conducted further research to learn what conscious, bold, non-conforming late Gen-Z and Millenials with a focus on social and environmental issues would respond positively to – while staying true to the brand’s ethos and the established vision statement.

Mariam created a bold and minimalistic typographic logo and an equally strong submark that can be used along with it. Through the typographic logo – submark pair, Mariam aimed for a mix of elegance, boldness, and relatability, conveying the idea that Morning People is a brand that truly sees and understands its audience. The typefaces are striking to generate a strong and memorable first-glance impact.

The first product of the Morning People line is the CBD-infused Vitamin-C Sunbaked serum. The packaging design is meant to reflect Morning People’s core message of empowerment and the product’s lift-me-up effect, as Vitamin C has energizing and anti-aging effects, while CBD leaves the skin supple, rejuvenated, and adequately hydrated. The packaging sets the customer expectations at first glance: by using this product, you’ll start your morning putting your best face forward.

The visual identity and design for Morning People had Mariam deploying a fluent approach that successfully discerns each product while tying them all together with the goal to convey the brand’s core message and reach the end customer on a human level.

As to the color palette, Mariam opted for a mix of warm and cold tones inspired by sunrises, mornings, and mundane life. She created a gradient color inspired by the spectrum of the sunrise dawn sky for the boxes, linked to the brand’s name. All the visual elements were chosen purposefully, ensuring they look alluring and vibrant when printed on recycled glass, a material selected to minimize the brand’s environmental impact.