Art Direction, Brand Design & Development. Artifacts for connection.

Stack of Skwalwen skincare product boxes in pastel colors, arranged on a shadowy white background. Each box has line art of a botanical drawing drawn by Sydney Mak.

Skwalwen
Illustration
Industry: Beauty
Project by Arithmetic

Luxury Indigenous beauty brand Skwalwen’s (skwall-win) packaging redesign honours traditional Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) wisdom through a set of custom botanical illustrations. Each box features key ingredients of the high quality formula, formulated by Ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph and sourced according to generations of plant knowledge. Embossed and printed with copper foil across the suite of boxes and custom colour-matched glass vessels, this packaging suite is inspired by and evokes resonance and ritual.

To create a humanistic feel, the illustration process was drawn on paper before the final selections were scanned and then meticulously crafted digitally for optimal foil print performance. Each illustration was strategically drawn for strong differentiation, and in the same form structure for underlying visual harmony across all SKUs, building trust with the user.

Skwalwen is carried by close to 100 retailers across the United States & Canada including luxury department store Holt Renfrew.

See the full suite completed with Arithmetic.

AWARDS [Awarded to Arithmetic]
Pentaward Shortlist, 2023

Project Credits: Creative Director: Margherita Porrà. Brand Strategy & Brand Design: Margherita Porrà. Lead Designer: Rachel Sanvido. Illustration: Sydney Mak. Market Research & Strategy: Margherita Porrà, Elizabeth Vegh. Client Management: Elizabeth Vegh, Margherita Porra, Brooke Rosales. Sourcing & Production: Elizabeth Vegh. Support & Creative Team: Sydney Mak. Copywriting: Margherita Porrà, Elizabeth Vegh, Rachel Sanvido.

Role: Illustration, Support & Creative Team.

2023 boxes and vessels: Kalkáy Toner, Gel Cleanser, Facial Oil, Facial Mask. Shkweń Body Oil, Facial Essence, Facial Serum. Téýwilh Face Cream. Tewín’xw Cleansing Clay, Facial Serum, Facial Bar.

Boxes of Skwalen Botanicals skincare products, including a wild rose gel cleanser and a cranberry rose cleansing clay, with floral and berry designs on the packaging.
A product package for Skwalwen Botanicals face cream, labeled as 'Téywilḥ' with ingredients including sweetgrass, sage, rose, and geranium. The package features botanical illustrations, a QR code, and text about Indigenous heritage and sustainability.
Open notebook with black line sketches of flowers and plants on both pages.
Close-up of a pink skincare product box with gold foil details, featuring text about indigenous ownership and plant-based ingredients, with other skincare boxes in pastel colors blurred in the background.


SYDNEY MAK

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