Complements — Modular chocolates to pair & share
Campaign identity, Design thinking, Packaging, Identity system, site design
Complements are modular artisan chocolates that form unique combinations of flavour and colour. They’re delicious on their own, but combine them and something truly special happens – a uniquely mouthwatering flavour greater than the sum of its parts.
The chocolates were originally conceived in 2016 as an end-of-year gift for the people we work with, but with unprecedented viral success and demand to buy them, these chocolates have taken on a life of their own.
Coming together to create something good
We get a lot of pleasure out of making work that delights clients and their customers alike. It’s a feeling we try to create in our client gifts, so we looked to create a sense of anticipation, and the unexpected. At the end of 2016 we set ourselves a brief – to craft something out-of-the-box for the people that we work with, that reflects on how we work with them.
Inspired by the complementary relationship between client and designer, these modular chocolates were born.
After exploring a wide range of interlocking shape designs, we chose a clean, modular staircase shape, which combined with another flavour, creates a single bite-sized cube.
After exploring a wide range of interlocking shape designs, we chose a clean, modular staircase shape, which combined with another flavour, creates a single bite-sized cube.
Once we’d selected a diverse flavour range, we worked on a vibrant mix of colours and painterly finishes like airbrushing, dips and marbling, to create a natural contrast to the geometric shapes. With the designs locked in, Jen from Bakedown Cakery worked her magic to bring our idea to life.
Needless to say, we weren’t expecting the success of these little treats, with 100+ press features around the world. Dezeen, Etapes, Under Consideration, Designboom, Gestalten, HypeBeast, and the Daily Telegraph all picked up the story, and we even got some printed mentions in IdN, Form, and PAGE magazine.
Sweetest of all were the awards and accolades – #1 in Wired Loves Top 100, a Sydney Design Award, Frankie Good Stuff Award, Best Design Award, AGDA Award, Golden Pin Second Stage Nomination, and even a biennale exhibit!
Getting it right
Because of the huge response and demand to buy them, we decided to make Complements available for sale. We spent nearly a year perfecting them, and first off the mark were the flavours. We developed new ones, got rid of some, and made sure that they all tasted as good as they looked.
After much debate, and of course, extensive tasting for research purposes, the 12 chosen flavours were: salted caramel, black sesame, lavender, blackcurrant, strawberry, cookies & cream, pistachio, mango, matcha, raspberry, single origin dark, and lychee & coconut.
All of them are handmade, with ingredients as varied as French couverture, Australian grown nuts, fruits from the New Zealand alps, and the humble Oreo.
A box of Complements
The design integrates the chocolates with the identity and packaging – flavour, colour and texture come together. The patterns on the chocolates and packaging play with contrast, so we brought that out in the typography too, with a wordmark that hints at the shape of what’s to come.
Bringing them online
As the main touchpoint, the website needed to look the part. It’s chock full of delicious imagery that we shot with photographer Christopher Morris and stylist Jessica Johnson. Our art direction was bold, textural, and a little bit luxe.
We put the chocolates front and centre here, giving buyers a taste of what they’ll be getting.
Curious? Lover of all things chocolate and design? Pick up your very own box here.
