Packaging Design | Typography | Print Design
Cheekbone Beauty
Cheekbone Beauty is a Canadian Indigenous-owned and founded makeup company that aims to create space in the beauty industry where everyone, especially Indigenous youth, feels represented and seen. Their products can be found in stores at Sephora Canada and online at Sephora.com & JC Penney. From 2020 to 2023, Cheekbone updated its packaging by switching from single-use to reusable makeup components.
This transition to reusable containers better aligned with their commitment to sustainability, and in particular honour and practice the 7th Generation Principle derived by the Iroquois People. The practice encourages saving enough for the next generation, and leaving enough for their own children for the next seven generations.
Project Objective
Design functional packaging to hold the new reuseable components while complying to Cheekbone's exsisting branding and design style.
*All product photography on this page is courtesy of Cheekbone Beauty & Courtney Michaud
Packaging Update
I was tasked with the creation of new boxes, makeup component artwork and sticker lables for their stock of products. When I first came onto the project, there were products didn’t have a box, or the boxes that did exist were now the incorrect size because of the change in components.
I created custom dielines for each product, which at the time included 31 lip products, 13 eye products and 16 face products. Each box has its own unique barcode, shade name and ingredients list that needed to be typeset and checked for accuracy. The text also needed to appear in both French and English. In total I designed 60 boxes, as well as created the typography on their pencil products and reuseable lip components.
Throughout the design process, I created a number of paper prototypes to ensure that the products would fit securely in the packaging. The prototypes also helped to check that that all the flaps and graphics were consistent across all of the boxes.
FALL 2022
Deadly Auntie
In the fall of 2022, I was asked to create a shirt featuring the phrase "Deadly Auntie". "Auntie" in Indigenous cultures is a moniker used as sign of respect for older women. They are often carriers of traditional knowledge and practices can offer emotional guidance or support. It is a term of endearment and signifies a strong, supportive role within the community. Cheekbone wanted a slick, minimal design that reflected the all the deadly aunties they have in their customer base.
FALL 2022
Winter Stories
In the Fall of 2022, I was asked by Cheekbone to create a custom box for a makeup set that they wanted to release for the 2022 holiday season. This set was called the Winter Stories bundle and featured their new Illuminating Primer Stick and a shimmery limited edition Lip Gloss. They wanted the packaging to reflect a glowing, winter night, and capture the significance of storytelling within Indigenous culture. We decided to create a box in the shape of a book with a sparkling winter night scene on the cover to combine the elements of storytelling with the glittery elements of the makeup products found within the box.
To create this design, I made a number of paper prototypes to ensure that the products would fit securely within the package and would not move around. My initial prototypes were designed without the use of glue, but later I worked with the box manufacturer to create an alternate version of the dieline using glue that was more suitable for flat transportation.
