Unilever’s Magnum redesign inspired by “culturally democratizing” fashion industry

07 May 2021 --- Unilever’s ice cream brand Magnum has restyled its packaging design to make the brand feel “more liberated and contemporary.” 

The move repositions Magnum as a “liberated force of pleasure,” visually evolving its associations with luxury and exclusivity.

The redesigns feature a new signature diagonal line, a softer typeface and an inverted matte color scheme – the capital “M” is cloaked in chocolate brown against a metallic yellow surface in a reverse of the original design.

The new layout marks Magnum’s third brand image revamp by design agency Sunhouse Creative. “Magnum has always been a brand that recognizes and adapts to trends in fashion,” Tom Maurice, founder of Sunhouse Creative, tells PackagingInsights. 

“Thus, this most recent evolution wasn’t driven by a rejection of exclusivity and privilege, but rather it is a way to continue playing in this space and stay relevant with the change in consumer behavior,” he details.

The diagonal line runs in parallel with the slant in the signature “M” logo.Democratizing an icon
Culturally, there has been a “democratization of fashion and luxury” trends, says Maurice, wherein everything has become more accessible and attainable. 

“Contemporary style expression, driven by the dismantling of the elite fashion authority and the influx of real voices, has freed people to discover and embrace their own individual tastes and style,” Maurice highlights. 

“The result is a fashion world that is more open-minded, inclusive and liberated.” 

Gatekeeping luxury and artistic creativity is fading in style. One recent headline-grabber was the UK Design Museum’s latest art exhibition. 

In collaboration with multidisciplinary designer Camille Walala and Bombay Sapphire, the museum brought a sense of wonder to the everyday chore of food shopping with a vibrantly colored supermarket installation showcasing artist-designed food packaging.

Not all that glitters
Sunhouse Creative treads the tightrope of not introducing a new look to Magnum, but rather “unlocking what was inherent to the brand, setting it free and amplifying it.” 

These clues are purposely subconscious. “In past iterations of the logo, there were lots of different effects used to create that shiny golden sheen,” recalls Maurice.

“Although gold is very much part of the Magnum brand, we wanted to get away from the ‘bling’ and the connotations it brings.” 

The matted gold color without the reflective sheen “retains more realism and honesty,” Maurice explains. “It’s now more contemporary and understated, which is much more aligned to color palettes used in the fashion and luxury world today.” 

Magnum’s new brand expression evolves the idea of pleasure as “an exclusive privilege to an indulgence for all.”Subtle lettering tweaks
The typeface received “little kick serifs” connecting through to the M-logo, resculpting the letter font to be slightly rounder and softer. 

“It’s subtle, but there is a crafted aspect to this new typeface that makes it feel a bit more considered, elevating the mastery of what Magnum does,” explains Maurice.

He views the possibility of consumers not taking note of the design changes as positive. “We wanted this evolution to feel natural, deepening consumers’ recognition of the brand rather than jarring them with something that was unnecessarily disruptive and alienating.” 

Art serves a practical purpose
The previous Magnum packaging rendition bore straight or slanting vertical lines, but the new diagonal angle runs in parallel with the declining line in the logo’s “M.” 

“It’s a visual representation of a chocolate shard. This taps into the consumer’s memory of ‘cracking’ into a Magnum bar, semiotically bringing that to life to strengthen and drive ownability,” Maurice affirms.

On pack, it also helps to organize the hierarchy of information and deliver differentiated variants in ways that “feel rooted to the brand.” 

“Minimalism isn’t a trend so much as it is a tool,” says Maurice.Minimalism as a tool 
Although the design has more calculated and calmer artistic elements, Maurice maintains it would be a misnomer to sum up Magnum’s evolution as “minimalist.” 

“Minimalism isn’t a trend so much as it is a tool. In food packaging, it can communicate the honesty of a natural foods brand or reflect the understated style of a premium soft drink.”

“It should never be about becoming reductive, but rather about highlighting the core truth of a brand with compelling clarity.” 

Fast-food giants McDonald’s and Burger King recently used minimalist tools in their respective restaurant packaging redesigns to make their brands future-proof for the age of digitalization.

Ultimately, Maurice sees the simplicity of Magnum’s new identity as useful in giving it “the fearless confidence” of a recognized ice cream brand.

This simplicity is “cleverly deceptive,” he concludes, with each element carrying brand significance tapping into the memory of what consumers “have always known and loved about Magnum.”

By Anni Schleicher