Botnia SPF by Hugmun

A special packaging project created for the new Gentle Sun Cream SPF 30 by Botnia. The brand’s founder, Justine Aurora Kahn, began working on the SPF formula in 2020, and it took six years to perfect. We knew from the very beginning that this was an exceptional product — and that it deserved equally exceptional packaging.

Sustainability has always been at the heart of Botnia’s philosophy, also in their packaging choices, which is why this time they chose an aluminum tube. The tube itself became the central inspi- ration for the entire design. We wanted to elevate this ordinary object into something sculptural. Based on our initial concept, the printing team at Marceli Printery developed a unique technique that transformed the tube into a 3D form reproduced as a multi-level emboss on the carton box, naturally echoing the aluminum tube itself. Enhancing its simplicity — especially when it feels real, natural, and softly crinkled through use. The combination of raw natural paper and silver embossing felt like the perfect balance.

An additional part of the project that allowed us to work in a truly hands-on way was a small stop-motion animation we created using elements from Laura Junger’s beautiful, sun-soaked illustration. The illustration also became part of a special SPF set featuring a small key with two functions: it helps roll the aluminum tube to fully use the product, while also functioning as a hairpin. We designed the key entirely from scratch, finishing it with the brand’s phrase “We are nature, by way of earth,” handwritten by the founder’s daughter, Eve.

The entire project was photographed by Kuba Szopka, who beautifully captured its warm, Californian summer atmosphere.

Contributors: Eve, Kuba Szopka, Marceli Printery, Marek Degórski

Curator’s Insight

There’s a nice bit of logic at play in how this box is built. Instead of treating the carton as a separate surface to decorate, the design lifts the tube’s own silhouette and presses it directly into the packaging, folds, curves, and all. The result reads less like branding applied to a container and more like a cast taken from the object it protects.

That choice also does some quiet work around material honesty. Raw, undyed board paired with a silver emboss keeps the palette limited to what the tube itself already offers: metal and paper, nothing added for polish. It’s a pairing that lets sustainability show up as a visual decision rather than a stated claim, which tends to land better with a skincare audience that’s grown skeptical of green messaging.

Worth noting too how the dimensional emboss changes under different light, catching shadow and shine depending on the angle it’s viewed from, so the packaging photographs differently in every shot rather than sitting flat.