Nykr, Olssøn Barbieri

Nykr

The beauty industry is increasingly embedding technology into their products, feeding into a narrative of flawlessness and homogenisation. At the same time, and in parallel with the body acceptance movement, niche innovator brands are connecting with a contrasting consumer desire for natural and inclusive beauty through organic formulas.

Nykr is an all-natural, gender-neutral handmade skincare brand from Oslo, founded by the scent artist Cecilie Egeberg. Cecilie’s attraction to the duality of light and dark and the good and bad in the Nykr, is emblematic of the honesty which mirrors the slow beauty and natural skincare philosophy.

Year

2019

Deliverables

Identity, Packaging, Storytelling, Illustration, Art Direction

Industries

Beauty

Materials

Glass, Paper

Techniques

Silkscreening

Client

Nykr Natural Skincare (Norway)

Collaborators

Magnus Voll Mathiassen (Norway), Illustration

Tove Sivertsen, Photographer

Awards

2020, Visuelt Diploma

The name is a Norse word for Nøkken; a shape-shifting water spirit in Scandinavian folklore who was believed to hide in lakes and waters, luring children and women below the surface by playing enchanted songs on the violin or assuming beautiful and alluring shapes – most commonly in the form of a "brook horse". At the end of the 19th century, many Norwegian artists looked back in time to rediscover their old myths and legends. The myths of Nøkken inspired the paintings of Theodor Kittelsen, the poetry of Henrik Ibsen and the music of Edvard Grieg.

The formulas of Nykr are popular with the actors at the National Theatre in Oslo, and for the redesign of the brand we were inspired by how the theatre is constantly interpreting classics. Through the contemporary and fluid illustration style of Magnus Voll Mathiassen, we reinterpreted motifs, myths and superstitions connected to Nykr.

Nøkken in Norwegian art

In Norse mythology every animal, plant, rock, river, lake, what we call "Natural world" had its animated spirit. The Scandinavian 'Nøkken' was a shapeshifting water spirits who played enchanted songs on the violin, luring women and children to drown in lakes or streams. They also could appear as floating objects or as an animal – most commonly in the form of a "brook horse".

At the end of the 19th century, many Norwegian artists looked back in time to rediscover their old myths and legend. Theodor Kittelsen (1859-1914) was Norway's most famous illustrator from the golden age of illustration. He became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legends. Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is mentioning Nøkken in his 1871 poems “Spillemænd” and “Med en Vandlilje”. A reccuring theme in Ibsens work is that the characters are faced with self-realization and struggle with the clash between the individual and societal pressures. Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) composed an opus based on these poems in 1876 and he was one of the leading Romantic Era composer in Norway.

Every illustration is dedicated to a category. The Face Oil is represented by water lilies, which was believed to hide the Nykr below the water. The Hair Oil is inspired by an iconic Kittelsen painting of the Nykr in the shape of a horse. The Body Oil represents superstition and protection. By shouting the name of the Nykr out loud, it was believed he would vanish. The lip balms are named after three of Ibsens female characters: Hedda, Nora and Fanny.

As many niche cosmetic products are black and white, we also wanted colour to play a larger role. The bottles are staple vessels, but the spray coating and the silkscreened illustrations contributes to elevating each product. The concept of duality is also manifested in the two different sides of the bottles – the scientific, typographical side and the magical, illustrated side portraying the legends of the Nykr. Each glass bottle is spray lacquered and silk screened with organic ink in three different colours.