Looking for something?

Tap outside or press close

InspirationGraphic Design

Astrid Stavro's identity for 'next-generation' cereal that has flavours to match your mood

Pentagram's Astrid Stavro is behind the identity for OffLimits, a new cereal designed to be eaten at any time of day with different flavours designed to match your mood, that's whether you feel "wired" or "tired".

Written By:
Open magazine spread showing the words "CHOOSE TO SNOOZE" in bold black typography on a white page, representing OffLimits cereal branding

Its creator Emily Elyse Miller approached Astrid to create both the packaging and a distinctive brand to "perfectly embody the brand's energetic and high-spirited attitude". The resulting identity comprises of two unique characters which take centre stage on the packaging, and a brand language featuring bold typography, saturated colours and an expressive tone of voice.

Each cereal flavour is represented by a different character, drawn by Shepard Fairey's Studio Number One. The characters form a key part of the identity, interacting with each other, keeping pets and joining together to create an extended OffLimits family.

'Dash' appears on the caffeine-infused coffee and cocoa flavour while 'Zombie' features on the more mellow vanilla and pandan flavour, and both characters pop up in the various pieces of cereal-related ephemera. "Through these characters and their contrasting personalities, OffLimits is also on a mission to destigmatise difficult conversations about mental health," says Pentagram. As such, each order contains a carefully constructed activity sheet with different stress and anxiety-relieving activities for people to work through while eating their cereal.

"The name OffLimits serves a dual purpose," explains Emily Elyse Miller. "It's a playful take on the sugary treats that always seem to be out of reach when we're young and also represents the element of defiance that's ingrained in the brand's DNA. Right now, the system is broken, and we're rebuilding the world we want to live in. Nothing is off-limits!"

Astrid and her team created a bold logo with the second 'F' just out of reach (or "off-limits"), which is accompanied by a bespoke typeface designed in collaboration with Emma Williams, and a saturated colour palette.

All of these work together to create a vibrant visual language which brings the high energy brand to life. Encouraging us to "break the rules, starting from breakfast", the brand language is irreverent and fun, reinforcing the cereal's playful attitude. The packaging is colourful and bold, and very different from existing "adult-orientated" cereal brands.

The proposed brand assets (such as sleeping masks featuring the word 'Snooze') were carefully selected to help bring OffLimits to life. Other sleep- and breakfast-inspired items include mugs suggesting that we 'Break the Rules', and t-shirts with playful slogans such as 'Keep it Real'. The newspaper-format teaser 'Cereal Times' also features the brand's signature bold typography, bright colours and playful copy.

Two OffLimits cereal boxes side by side: yellow Dash box with coffee and cocoa flavour, and orange Zombie box with vanilla and pandan flavour, each featuring illustrated characters on bright coloured backgrounds
OffLimits Dash coffee and cocoa cereal box with bright yellow background, large dimensional letters and an illustrated character in turquoise and white
Orange OffLimits cereal box featuring an illustrated blue character with striped shirt against a peach background with circular design elements
SPARK typography identity sheet for OffLimits cereal brand showing bold distressed letter forms with handwritten annotations about sensory, flirty, sweet and spicy romantic attributes
Open book showing the letters A and B in large bold black typeface on white pages against a pink background
Open notebook with a minimalist line drawing of the OffLimits cereal character design on grid paper against a pink background
Open OffLimits cereal magazine spread showing bold black typography reading "BEST" and "BOX BOOM BOUNCE BREAKFAST" on white pages against a pink background
White mug with bold black text reading "Break The Rules" against a light blue background
Black sleep mask with white "SNOOZE" text on pink background, representing the Zombie cereal character for OffLimits
Black and yellow wall clock with large numerals 12 and 6, featuring character labels "Zombie is Asleep" and "Dash is Awake
OffLimits cereal packaging with bold white typography reading "The Cereal Times" on black background
OffLimits cereal packaging with large blue text reading "MORNING! MORNING! MORNING!" repeated three times on a cream background
OffLimits cereal packaging with bold black typography reading "GET UP AND BOUNCE" and brown spheres scattered across a light background
Bright yellow cereal box for OffLimits Coffee & Cocoa featuring bold black typography and a "Break the Rules" badge
OffLimits cereal packaging spread open to reveal pink pages with bold black text reading "KEEP IT REAL
Open notebook spread with bold white typography reading "BREAK THE RULES" on a bright blue background, part of the OffLimits cereal brand identity
Two cereal box panels with simple black line drawings of wide-eyed faces with curved eyebrows, representing OffLimits cereal characters
OffLimits cereal packet with bold black text reading "Your alarm chirps before the birds do" split across the open pages
Share

Further Reading