Designing for designers: new Olin Origins paper branding merges graphic design and art

Working mainly for clients in the cultural, creative, design and interior sector, the agency recently launched its new work for coloured creative paper range Olin Origins.

The Olin paper range, owned by paper merchants Antalis, was rebranded and repositioned by Design & Practice in April. Eschewing the usual branding route of a singular logo or mark, the designers created an adaptable icon that can be used as a graphic device, consistent brand mark, content window and more.

That project then led to the work for Olin Origins, a collection of papers that sits within the Olin brand. Olin Origins is a premium eco-conscious paper in three weights that aims to "capture the essence of nature through the materiality of paper," designed for uses such as packaging, stationery, business cards and other more tactile print projects.

Abstract still life arrangement with crumpled foil, circular paper samples and geometric blue paper forms showcasing Olin Origins paper textures and finishes

Stacked geometric forms in dark materials with a textured cube topped by a sphere, suggesting abstract sculptural branding for Olin Origins paper

Design & Practice's founders, Ruben de la Rive Box and Golnar Roshan, take a more experimental, artistic-led approach to design and branding. Alongside Design & Practice, they also run the artistic studio duo Rive Roshan, which has shown its work at sites including Les Musée des Arts Decoratifs Paris, The Old Selfridges Hotel London, Powerhouse Museum Sydney, Shanghai Museum of Glass, Museum JAN with a recent acquisition by National Gallery Victoria.

Rive Roshan was directly involved in shaping the Olin Origins work, with the two studios working in tandem to create physical sculptures that were then photographed to create the final designs.

Olin Origins branded packaging and stationery featuring beige and white materials with black oval graphic devices and repeated OLIN text on kraft paper interior lining

Olin Origins paper samples displayed with textured blocks and a standing card featuring a yellow circular graphic element

These sculptures were inspired by the five natural colours that comprise the Olin Origins range: lava stone, cereal, pebble, chalk and indigo. Design & Practice hand-crafted physical sculptures using materials such as stone, glass and metal, in collaboration with a metal sculptor.

"Because we have this very experimental approach in our artistic practice, we draw that way of working into our design practice and the work that we do for our clients," Roshan explains.

Design & Practice created a series of tools, including the inspiration packs, envelopes and sample folders, to bring the range and identity to life physically. These include postcards showcasing the imagery of the sculptural artworks, which are used to demonstrate the possibilities of Olin Origins paper.