BLAQ

Refreshing a cult favourite with purpose

BLAQ had the basics covered: great products, an innovative spirit, and a focus on sustainability. But they lacked what was needed to connect with a newer, younger generation – the Z factor. Our opportunity was to breathe new life into the brand through a Gen Z lens – creating a bold new creative platform, and packaging to match.

Zeroing in on Zoomers

Gen Z’s view of beauty is about radical self-acceptance. They’re playful with who they are, and don’t like being confined to a box. This is a generation that believes beauty shouldn’t come at the expense of the planet. Our refreshed identity needed to reflect this with a focus on fun, purpose and diversity.

We started by defining a strong purpose: Detoxify the beauty world, creating playful, easy and efficacious regimes for all.

Into the nitty gritty

The refreshed brand is playful and unapologetic in design and attitude – while fragmented creative reflects time split between Gen Z’s two worlds: the ever-evolving digital world (URL) and the real world (IRL). We’ve created an evolved logo that’s about owning BLAQ’s unique identity, while art direction is deliberately raw, real and unpolished – expressing bucketloads of attitude and individuality.
Vibrant primary colours unleash the brand’s fun side, while dynamic, meandering headline shapes embody energy. On the packaging, we’ve used geometric shapes to help with navigation and inject an even bigger dose of joy.

In-Depth Case Study

Shopper Insight: Cracking the beauty code

Breaking into the beauty aisle is famously tough. Marie Claire Australia and Cosmopolitan often describe the category as “crowded, trend-driven, and dominated by big names whose packaging promises more than it delivers.”
New entrants face two huge hurdles:

Visibility – standing out on a shelf crowded with pastel “pretty” brands.
Relevance – connecting with consumers whose values and beauty ideals have shifted.

Shoppers today, particularly younger ones, are fatigued by perfection-chasing imagery and skeptical of complicated routines. They want straight-talking, efficacious products that don’t harm the planet, and they want brands to signal inclusivity and self-expression.

BLAQ had the fundamentals in place:

Proven detoxifying products for skin and oral care
Innovative spirit and commitment to sustainable sourcing and cruelty-free formulas

But the brand’s earlier identity felt safe, even generic. Its beauty packaging design didn’t reflect the attitude, playfulness, and purpose that make Gen Z tick, representing a huge opportunity for transformation.

Understanding Gen Z’s Beauty Mindset

Gen Z approaches beauty with radical self-acceptance.
They mix trends, celebrate flaws, and reject the notion that beauty means conforming to a narrow ideal.
As recent Cosmo features on Gen Z skincare highlight:

“Gen Z beauty is fun, experimental, and values-driven — they’ll embrace a new serum one week, but they’ll also check the brand’s eco-footprint and how inclusive it feels.”

Three insights shaped the creative challenge:

1. Fun over perfection.
Beauty isn’t about flawless selfies but about enjoying the ritual — mask selfies, vibrant colours, tongue-in-cheek copy.

2. Purpose over posturing.
Sustainability, cruelty-free claims, and simple ingredient stories aren’t “nice to have”; they’re deal-breakers.

3. IRL + URL identities.
This generation splits time between the real world (IRL) and the ever-evolving digital world (URL) — and expects brands to flex between both.

Category Landscape & Emerging Trends

The global detoxifying beauty segment is growing fast, but it sits in a hyper-fragmented market. On one side are clinical-cosmetic brands with heavy scientific codes; on the other, “pretty pastel” K-beauty-inspired players chasing viral fads.
Few brands managed to balance fun, inclusiveness, and efficacy.

Emerging trends that shaped the brief:

Clean and conscious formulations: low-tox, sustainably sourced, vegan.
Bold, Gen Z-ready design language: colour pops, raw art direction, digital-native storytelling.
Inclusive positioning: “made for everyone” and respectful of diverse skin tones.
Joyful functionality: packaging that is easy to navigate and fun to use.

BLAQ had strong functional credibility — e.g., charcoal-based detox masks and pore strips, whitening oral care, and gentle cleansers — but it needed a design system and brand voice to make the brand as emotionally compelling as it was functionally sound.

The Brief: Add the ‘Z Factor’

BLAQ asked Cowan to re-energise the brand for a new generation of beauty shoppers without losing its detox-driven DNA.

The guiding purpose we distilled together:

“Detoxify the beauty world — creating playful, easy and efficacious regimes for all.”

Key design challenges:

Capture the raw, unapologetic confidence of Gen Z.
Balance playfulness with purpose.
Show that detox beauty can be inclusive, joyful and planet-friendly.
Create a cohesive packaging system that works across an extensive product portfolio:
- Charcoal masks & pore strips
- Cleansers & serums
- Oral care range
- Accessories & kits

Cowan’s Shopper-Centric Approach

Our approach to creating iconic packaging is always insight-driven and values-led, anchored in our design philosophy: Simple, Together, Brave.

Simple: Cut Through the Noise

We stripped away anything that felt like clutter.
We focused on what helps shoppers choose fast — strong brand block, clear claims, easy product navigation.
Vibrant primary colours unleashed the brand’s fun side, while geometric shapes made the range easier to shop and injected a visual “spark of joy.”

Together: Build with the Client

We worked hand-in-hand with the BLAQ team:

Immersion in Gen Z insights through category and culture scans.
Co-creation workshops to define the new brand purpose and attitude.
Design testing with target shoppers to gauge shelf stand-out and brand fit.

This collaborative spirit ensured the final design was not only strategically sharp but also authentic to BLAQ’s voice.

Brave: Challenge Category Codes

We deliberately rejected the category’s over-polished aesthetic.
Instead, we embraced an unpolished, raw and real art direction to express individuality and digital-native energy.

We evolved the logo to own BLAQ’s name with more character and confidence.
Photography and lifestyle imagery were chosen to feel inclusive, spontaneous, sometimes even “selfie-esque”, mirroring how Gen Z shares beauty moments online.

Creative Translation: From Insight to Shelf

Key visual and structural moves:

Evolved Logo
Bolder and more self-assured, a mark of unapologetic identity.
Fragmented Creative Language
Mirroring Gen Z’s split between URL & IRL worlds — part curated feed, part unfiltered life.
Joyful Navigation System
Geometric icons & bright colour pops help consumers quickly find the right product.
Raw, Real Art Direction
Candid photography, stripped-back styling, and bold typography communicate confidence and authenticity.
Sustainability Storytelling
Eco-friendly materials and cruelty-free claims are communicated simply and up-front, reflecting what truly matters to conscious shoppers.

The new packs no longer whisper on shelf — they demand attention in a positive, high-energy way.

Shopper Motivation Unlocked

The redesign addressed three layers of motivation that drive beauty shoppers:

Character – Attitude & Inclusivity
Celebrating BLAQ’s playful, inclusive personality that resonates with Gen Z.
Communication – Clarity & Honesty
Putting “Detoxify Beauty” and “Made for Everyone” at the heart of front-of-pack messaging.
Capability – Trust & Performance
Showing that the products are not only fun but also effective — made with “simple, proven detoxifying ingredients” and “gentle enough for all skin types.”

Results: A Reborn Brand for a New Era

While still early in market, BLAQ’s refresh has delivered:

Clearer on-shelf navigation and stronger shelf-blocking effect
Higher engagement on social media, especially with Gen Z beauty communities
Improved conversion online, where raw, fun creative resonates with shoppers
A brand now well-positioned to expand its product portfolio without diluting its core purpose.

Beyond metrics, the project proves that:

A detoxifying beauty brand can be inclusive, planet-minded, and joyfully bold — and that packaging plays a frontline role in expressing that promise

The new brand world equips BLAQ to continue expanding globally:

Seamlessly extendable across new SKUs and limited-edition drops.
Flexible for IRL retail, DTC e-commerce, and social-commerce channels.
Designed to connect with emerging cultural conversations around self-expression, inclusivity, and sustainable routines.

Beauty shoppers are telling brands what they want: “Show me products that work. Don’t patronise me with impossible ideals. Let me enjoy the ritual and feel good about what I’m putting on my skin.”

BLAQ heard that call. Cowan helped translate it into a creative platform and packaging system that reflects fun, inclusivity, efficacy, and responsibility.

In a marketplace still dominated by “looking pretty” brands, BLAQ now stands as a beacon of detoxifying attitude and authentic connection — proof that even in a crowded aisle, you can claim your space if you’re willing to be Simple, Together, and Brave.