January arrived with its traditional promise of contemporary begins. However for Growth Temporary #6, we weren’t fascinated with performative sustainability or virtue-signalling packaging. We requested our group to design a refillable family model that makes reuse really feel fascinating, not dutiful.
The transient was REFILL, a contemporary tackle on a regular basis necessities like hand wash, shampoo and floor cleaner. Merchandise designed to be refilled, reused, and unnoticed on function. No greenwashing. No apparent eco clichés. Simply sensible design that folks would genuinely need to reside with.
The #cbbriefrefill hashtag shortly crammed with considerate responses starting from playful to minimal. What united the strongest submissions was a refined shift in mindset: these weren’t bottles designed to shout from the sink. They have been objects formed and completed to earn their place by way of kind, texture, and restraint.
Many times, designers tackled the identical query: how do you make sustainability really feel easy quite than earnest?
Standout approaches
Trevor Thompson delivered one of many transient’s most elegantly purposeful concepts: a brand that fairly actually does the work. Inside minutes of studying the transient, he conceived an identification the place the REFILL wordmark doubles as a measuring software. Constructed vertically from the underside up, the stacked letterforms create clear refill increments straight on the bottle.
It is the sort of concept that feels apparent solely after somebody’s had it. “I actually appreciated {that a} brand might have a real sensible use,” Trevor explains. “A model that asks one factor of you should not be visually cluttered. It tells you what you want and nothing extra.”
The frosted amber bottle reinforces this strategy: it is a piece of decor quite than only a utility merchandise, one thing you’d hesitate to throw away even when empty. For a designer who loves fixing branding issues, this transient proved that the best sustainability messaging typically is not messaging in any respect.
Lauren Jefferis took a distinctly tactile strategy. Her customized logotype options an ‘f’ and ‘i’ that work together to reference refilling; intelligent with out being overt.
“I used to be impressed by the ‘slicing waste’ line within the transient,” she explains. “I then utilized this to make shapes which have texture and ‘minimize’ edges, straight referencing the tagline of ‘clear minimize care’.”
Tyson Edwards, Maks Bołejko, and Kate Spencer from Espresso & TV Design Studio took three distinct approaches. Senior designer Tyson used movement as a metaphor, constructing his identification from repeating shapes that embody reuse.
In movement, vibrant shards converge to construct the REFILL brand, visualising transformation and optimistic motion. Sustainability right here is not passive; it is dynamic and optimistic.
Maks developed packaging impressed by a reference Tyson shared: brightly colored stacked baskets. “I wished the packaging to really feel stylish whereas protecting the liveliness,” Maks explains. The result’s joyful quite than educational—minimal sort in opposition to busy backgrounds.
Kate questioned what refillable packaging might even be. As an alternative of bottles, she reimagined REFILL as a ceramic vase; an object designed to be stored and valued indefinitely. It was modelled in Cinema 4D, impressed by Helle Mardahl’s signature Bon Bon designs.
“I wished to make a product that makes sustainability really feel fascinating,” Kate explains. “One thing you’d need to carry on present.” It is a provocation: what if essentially the most sustainable packaging is solely designed so nicely that disposal feels absurd?
Sunnie approached the transient from an surprising angle: youngsters and family chores. Most sustainable family merchandise converse to adults with muted colors and mushy minimalism, however what of the youthful generations?
“REFILL reframes chores not as enforced duties, however as seen moments of possession,” Sunnie explains. Her vibrant design relies on a chilli bottle kind: an surprising however acquainted selection that breaks visible norms while remaining purposeful. The sharp color palette intentionally contrasts typical “eco” aesthetics. Quite than mushy greens or beige, the colors are vivid and assertive.
Beth Ewen began by imagining actual properties. “I constructed up a library of references that helped me image the place these merchandise would truly reside: someplace genuinely lived in,” she explains.
Strolling down a cleansing aisle, Beth observed the visible noise: loud colors, busy labels, typography competing for consideration. She intentionally stepped away from that. Her restricted palette of blue, white and brown feels quiet, purposeful and unusual on this class. The emblem is easy, with a niche designed to carry interchangeable product names. An enlarged drop motif acts as a mild reminder to refill.
“I wished one thing uncomplicated and regarded,” Beth says. “A product that will sit comfortably in a minimalist dwelling while nonetheless standing out on the store shelf.” Having began freelancing initially of 2026, this sustainably acutely aware transient resonated strongly together with her healthcare background, the place her work felt purposeful.
Sebastian Ferramondo drew inspiration from bulk items outlets the place folks purchase by weight. “I feel folks can have reusable luggage, bottles, or jars at dwelling and alter their procuring habits,” he explains.
His design selections have been easy: a transparent, daring typeface that works throughout codecs. He selected dots to characterize merchandise, originating from the dot within the letter ‘i’. It is easy, recognisable and scalable.
Mark Longson started by establishing the model first. He chosen Cesso, a show serif, and refined it to create a chic mark. “The packaging is deliberately restrained and assured,” Mark explains.
Minimal typography retains communication clear, with beneficiant white house. The color palette is mushy and muted; heat neutrals and delicate tones that sit naturally in properties while avoiding apparent “eco” cues. Every product is differentiated by color, making the vary straightforward to navigate.
Nina Jancic started by establishing the model first, drawing inspiration from pure textures. Hand-drawn textures on labels and grainy pictures convey a uncooked, natural feeling, balanced by a daring graphic brand.
“Nature was not solely a visible reference, but in addition the explanation behind the challenge,” Nina explains. Her inexperienced and brown palette echoes supplies and imagery, tying all the things to the pure world while sustaining a up to date edge.
How one can become involved
Missed REFILL? February brings one thing completely different. Growth Temporary #7 introduces Petal & Stem, an impartial florist based by two greatest pals specialising in seasonal British blooms—no imports, no filler; simply what’s rising now.
The model must really feel heat however not cutesy, impartial however not novice, fashionable however rooted in nature. Suppose Sunday morning farmers’ market vitality meets assured design.
Head to Instagram @creativeboom to learn the complete transient. Use #cbbriefpetalandstem, tag us, and submit earlier than Friday 27 February, 12pm GMT.
