Making technical performance clear at a glance
Client
Nikwax
Country
United Kingdom
Disciplines
Point of Sale
Sector
Manufacturing & Industrial
Retail
Founded in 1977, Nikwax is a British manufacturer of specialist cleaning and waterproofing products created to prolong the life and improve the performance of outdoor clothing, footwear and equipment. The company has pioneered water-based treatments, avoided aerosols and built its reputation around high-performance products developed with a deep commitment to environmental responsibility.
The brief
Nikwax asked BakerWilcox to develop a packaging system that could bring greater clarity and consistency to its extensive range of specialist products. With treatments created for different materials, activities and methods of application, the challenge was to help customers identify the right solution quickly while preserving the strength and familiarity of the established brand. Distributed in more than 50 countries, the packaging needed to communicate considerable technical and regulatory information across a wide range of markets. The system had to remain clear and consistent across numerous bottle sizes and product formats, while supporting adaptation into more than 20 languages without compromising hierarchy, legibility or brand recognition.
Baker Wilcox are a pleasure to work with, they deliver excellent quality work and good value for money too. They are like an extension of our marketing team.
Zoe HewittNikwax
The execution
We created a structured packaging architecture that organised the range through a clear hierarchy of product names, applications and benefits. Strong typography and disciplined information zones made the labels easier to scan, allowing customers to understand what each product was for, which materials it suited and how it should be used.
Colour played an important navigational role, helping to distinguish product families and allowing related treatments to be recognised quickly on shelf. The familiar green brand palette provided continuity across the range, while supporting colours and graphic details gave individual products their own identity and made comparison between cleaning, waterproofing and conditioning solutions more intuitive.
A suite of simple icons was developed to communicate activities, materials and methods of application with minimal reliance on written language. This became particularly important as the packaging system was adapted into more than 20 languages for distribution across over 50 countries, including markets with differing copy lengths, regulatory requirements and reading systems.
We carefully managed each language version to ensure that translations and mandatory information could be accommodated without disturbing the underlying design. The flexible structure allowed labels to expand and contract as required while maintaining a consistent visual hierarchy and a recognisable Nikwax presence across international shelves.
The system was applied across bottles, tubs, labels and specialist product formats before being extended into posters, retail displays, product selectors and supporting point-of-sale materials. The result was a practical and highly adaptable global packaging system that made a technically complex portfolio easier to understand, wherever in the world it appeared.
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
