A short history of Oh Goodness branding

Oh Goodness began in 2018 with a logo drawn by a clever artist friend of mine, Kelly Spencer. It was a small start, and it suited a small business. I was making paste deodorant at the time, a happy experiment that worked so well that friends and family started asking why I wasn't selling it. I had initially had a black on white and white on black option.

My first products were four fragrances of paste deodorant, with labels from Design Crowd. I didn't have much budget, and I didn't yet understand the value of really good design work. After a few months I realised the labels didn't really work with the logo terribly well nor represent my brand.

Ann Rabone of Annoir Design upgraded them into something that looked more cohesive and labels that matched the logo properly. A new range of colours was added and now it all went together much better as a brand idea. 

As the range grew, I moved into soapmaking and other skincare: creams and balms in jars. Once I had a range of soaps together in 2021, I asked Becky Olivier from Mayk Studio to design a range of boxes with sleeves.

Eventually I decided the whole brand needed an overhaul; my packaging overall was quite subdued and products were blending into the background too much on stockist shelves. The soaps were not on display enclosed in boxes and this made me sad!

I'd really enjoyed working with Becky (also an old family friend, so we had an easy connection), so in 2023 I asked her to update the logo. I loved the old cursive script of my original logo, but it was tricky to build the rest of the packaging around. So the new red logo was born.

Used first on a new range of soaps, Soap with a small footprint, this logo slowly but surely moved across everything else: deodorants, creams, balms and the rest. It's been a gradual change, one product at a time, as stock sells through and new labels arrive.

The newest step is a deep burgundy for the Kawakawa Lip Balm and Kawakawa Balm. I wanted the two to e easy to distinguish from the rest of the range without losing the look that ties everything together. Becky came up with the idea, I loved it and now we have the Kawakawa Duo.

And so, finally, every product in my range, soap and skincare, has a cohesive look.

I've learned a lot along the way, not least the value of a really good designer in making your packaging dreams come true. I'm super happy with the branding as it stands today, and I'm grateful to Becky and everyone else I've worked with along the way.