For decades, Streax has been a familiar sight in the haircare aisles of Indian stores - a trusted, accessible, and widely distributed brand. But when its parent company, HRIPL, decided to enter skincare, they faced a big design question: How do you convince people to try something entirely new from a brand they know in a very different category?
The challenge was twofold:
Leverage trust without looking like “just another haircare brand doing skincare.”
Elevate perception to compete in a premium masstige space where design sophistication is often the deal-maker.
Instead of creating a sub-brand or a completely separate identity, NH1 Design proposed a masterbrand approach, anchoring the skincare line firmly under the Streax umbrella.
This was a strategic move for two reasons:
Equity transfer: Shoppers who already trust Streax in haircare would feel reassured picking up its skincare range.
Visual continuity: A strong, singular brand architecture means every future extension—be it hair, skin, or beyond—feels like part of the same family.
The design team’s north star came from Kintsugi—the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold.
Why Kintsugi?
It’s about restoration, beauty in imperfection, and the idea that what’s cared for becomes more valuable over time.
This metaphor fit perfectly with skincare—a ritual of repair, protection, and self-respect.
The result: delicate gold lines woven into the packaging graphics, turning every bottle into a small piece of art with meaning built into its visuals.
The Kintsugi-inspired gold wasn’t the only story. NH1 paired it with a clean, spacious layout that allowed the design to breathe—critical in premium skincare, where negative space signals refinement.
Other key decisions included:
Metallic accents for sophistication and shelf impact.
Category-specific colour coding to help customers distinguish SKUs while maintaining a unified brand look.
Matte finishes that feel soft to the touch, echoing the tactile experience of healthy skin.
The masstige skincare shelf is noisy - bright colours, heavy fonts, cluttered claims. NH1 flipped the script by designing for calm confidence rather than loud persuasion. This allowed Streax Skin to stand out not by shouting, but by signalling quality and care.
NH1’s system wasn’t just about the first launch—it was built to scale. The visual assets, typography rules, and material choices work across multiple formats, from jars to tubes to cartons, ensuring that as the line grows, the identity remains consistent.
