A New Packaging Design System + Identity
As City Beauty expanded beyond DTC and into retail, its packaging needed to evolve with it. I led the redesign of the brand’s packaging system to create a more cohesive, elevated identity across categories — while improving consistency, scalability, and shelf presence.
COMPANY
DATE
MY ROLE
DESIGN
CONTR.
City Beauty
2023-Current
creative direction, art direction, creative strategy, cross-funtional leadership, research
Ashley Espinoza, Emma Chisholm
Product Developement, Supply Chain, Operations
Growth meant showing up differently.
As City Beauty expanded its product portfolio and moved further into retail, our packaging needed to become more intentional. Products shared nearly identical visual cues regardless of category, benefit, or positioning — making the lineup difficult to differentiate and limiting our ability to compete on shelf. We needed a system that could create distinction between products while still feeling unmistakably City Beauty.
The Challenge
Create a recognizable packaging system flexible enough to work across skincare, lip, eye, face, and body categories.
Before redesigning the packaging, I defined what needed to stay — and what needed to change.
DIFFERENTIATION
Create distinction between products and categories while maintaining a recognizable brand.
HEIRARCHY
Make product benefits and information easier to navigate.
FLEXIBILITY
Build a system that could scale across different packaging formats.
PREMIUMIZATION
Elevate materials, finishes, color and presentation for retail.
poor product
category recognition
let info breathe
remove soft touch
can our customer tell
us what this does
does illustration add meaning
remove matte
finish from cap. Let it SHINE.
inconsistent
gold cap color
remove white strip
The solution wasn't one package. It was a system.
I developed a flexible visual system anchored by City Beauty’s navy, refined typography, intentional use of color, and elevated finishes. The system created recognizable brand cues while giving individual products and categories room to stand apart.
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COLOR
Navy anchors the brand while intentional color creates product and category distinction.
TYPOGRAPHY
A consistent hierarchy creates recognition and improves readability.
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FINISHES
Metallic, pearlescent and tactile finishes elevate perceived value.
STRUCTURE
Product-appropriate structures create distinction while shared visual cues maintain brand recognition.
One system, adapted across categories.
Color became a tool for navigation. Each category was given a distinct tonal expression, while shared brand cues kept the portfolio unmistakably City Beauty.
Building a Category Color System
makeup
warm ivory
treatments
slate blue
supplements
blush
essentials
muted & soft blues
nighttime
deep navy
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The system had to work beyond the render.
I carried the system through production, adapting it across different structures, substrates, finishes, vendors, and retail requirements — without losing the consistency of the brand.
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A packaging system built to grow with the brand.
The redesign created a clearer visual language across City Beauty's growing portfolio, giving new products a framework to launch within rather than reinventing packaging with every release.
19% COST SAVINGS
Eliminated unnecessary finishes and optimized packaging production.
47+ PRODUCTS
Unified under a scalable packaging system
5 CATEGORIES
Given distinct visual identities within one brand architecture
DTC + RETAIL
Built to translate from ecommerce into physical retail environments
