RAW BARS: A Minimalist Rebrand Rooted in Usability

A packaging redesign focused on clarity, cohesion, and modern appeal

Overview

RAW BARS is a plant-based soap and body-care brand that I originally launched in high school. For this redesign, my goal was to create a cohesive, accessible, and modern packaging system that reflected the brand’s natural simplicity while improving readability and consistency.

This project combined my interests in visual design, user experience, and accessibility, focusing on how packaging communicates essential information and evokes trust at a glance.

Problem

When I first launched RAW BARS, I designed the labels myself using brown kraft paper to emphasize the handmade, eco-friendly nature of the soaps. While customers appreciated the natural aesthetic, the original design suffered from several usability issues:

  • Low text contrast made ingredients difficult to read

  • Inconsistent label sizing and spacing across products

  • Limited hierarchy where product names didn’t stand out from the rest of the text

As a result, customers often had to pick up each bar to identify the scent or type. In addition, the brand’s presentation felt rustic, not refined, and didn’t fully communicate the clean, minimal experience I wanted people to associate with RAW BARS.

Design Challenge

"How might I redesign RAW BARS’ packaging to feel elevated yet simple while focusing on readability and a calm, modern user experience?"

Research

To ground my redesign in user-centered principles, I conducted a competitive analysis and gathered informal feedback from repeat customers and local market visitors. Here are the major findings:

Competitive Scan

Dr. Bronners

Herb N' Eden

Pacha Soap Co.

Strong storytelling but visually overwhelming packaging

Vibrant color coding for scent recognition

Opted out of labels for product cards with great shelf readability

Customer Feedback

“I love how natural they look, but the brown labels make the text hard to read .”

I asked a few of my repeat customers about their thoughts on our current packaging and the main takeaway was that my labels lacked visual contrast and were hard to read from large distances.

Design Goals

Now that I've received insights from my users I can use their feedback and these goals to begin designing a new label that is accessible and communicates my brand values.

Design Process

My original RAW BARS packaging used natural brown kraft paper labels with printed stickers on top to reflect the handmade and natural nature of the products. Each bar featured the brand name, product name, ingredient list, and weight printed in simple black ink.

While this approach supported the brand’s earthy roots, it lacked visual hierarchy and contrast. The label text was small and dense, making ingredients hard to read, and the overall presentation didn’t scale well across products.

Key observations:

Second Iteration

As the brand began to grow, I wanted to refine the look while keeping its natural tone. The next iteration introduced structured alignment, cleaner typography, and a simplified hierarchy, while still using kraft paper as the base material.

This version featured a more intentional layout with increased "white" space and bold product titles with the ingredients on the back and, the logo was modernized with green accents to nod to the brand’s plant-based identity. Though it improved clarity, the overall tone still leaned too rustic for where I wanted RAW BARS to go.

Final Iteration

The final design took a bold turn toward simplicity and elevation. I transitioned to white matte labels to create a cleaner, more premium feel that aligned with RAW BARS’ refreshed direction: “Pure | Clean | Beauty.”

The design system uses consistent typography, high contrast, and subtle color accents that could evolve into a scent-based color system later on. Each bar now clearly presents the product name, brand name, and weight with a visual rhythm that feels cohesive and timeless.

Usability & Accessibility Focus

As the brand evolved, I wanted RAW BARS’ packaging to not only look refined but also function better for everyday users. I applied usability and accessibility principles typically used in digital design, focusing on how users visually process, handle, and differentiate products in real environments.

Improved Readability

The new white labels prioritize contrast, font size, and spacing. By switching from kraft brown to a clean white background, the black text became easier to scan indoors and under natural lighting, especially in market settings where glare and shadows vary.

Type sizes were also increased for key information like the product name and net weight, while the ingredients and brand tagline use lighter weights for visual balance.

Visual Hierarchy

Across all iterations, my goal was to have the label act as an interface and guide the eye in a clear and predictable order:

  1. Brand Name — establishes trust and recognition

  2. Tagline (Pure | Clean | Beauty) — reinforces brand promise

  3. Product Name — quickly identifies the soap

  4. Supporting Details — weight, ingredients, and secondary info

This structure allows users to understand what they’re buying within seconds without needing to rotate or handle the bar excessively which improves both usability and hygiene during in-person sales.

Reducing Cognitive Load

In HCI, users engage most efficiently when the interface minimizes unnecessary decisions. The same principle applies to product packaging. By simplifying the visual system and reinforcing predictable structure, users can effortlessly recognize RAW BARS products without consciously processing every detail.

Physical Interaction

RAW BARS products are sold both online and at local markets, where physical interaction plays a big role. The simplified labels are easy to grip, unwrap, and restock, which balances tactile usability with aesthetic appeal.

The matte finish also prevents glare under lighting, further supporting readability and maintaining a premium feel.

Through careful attention to readability, information hierarchy, and physical usability, RAW BARS’ redesign transforms a simple soap label into a functional user interface that communicates value, clarity, and brand trust at first glance.

Outcome and Impact

The RAW BARS redesign brought a renewed sense of consistency, and professionalism to the brand. The new label system creates an immediate impression of cleanliness and calm, and reinforces the same qualities the products themselves embody.

Customers responded positively to the elevated look, often describing the new packaging as “fresh,” “modern,” and “giftable.” The unified design also streamlined production by using a single, reusable label template that can be quickly updated for new scents or product lines.

  • Improved readability and customer recognition at markets and online

  • Stronger visual brand consistency across all product types

  • Simplified printing and labeling workflow using a single design system

  • Reinforced brand trust and premium perception through clean visual design

Customer Feedback

After introducing the new labels, I received encouraging feedback from repeat buyers and market visitors:

“I love the new look — it feels more polished but still true to the brand.”
"It’s so much easier to read and recognize from the table."
"This looks like something I’d find in a boutique or spa.”

Reflection

The RAW BARS redesign taught me how deeply human-centered design applies beyond the digital world. Something as simple as a soap label can shape how people perceive, understand, and interact with a product. By applying principles of usability and accessibility, I learned to design for clarity, not just beauty.

This project reminded me that every design choice — color, typography, spacing, or material — communicates a story. In refining RAW BARS, I not only elevated the brand visually but also deepened its connection to the values that inspired it: simplicity, transparency, and calmness.

Next Steps

Moving forward, I plan to continue refining the RAW BARS packaging system by:

  • Exploring color-coded scent families for quicker product differentiation

  • Experimenting with sustainable label materials and textured finishes

  • Integrating QR codes for digital ingredient transparency and brand storytelling