The Ordinary’s lotions and potions come with unmemorable titles like “Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG” or “Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%”.
- Products almost look as if they’re not meant to be sold.
- Rather than seductive bottles clamouring for consumer attention at a department-store beauty counter, they look like they belong in some austere Swiss mountain clinic run by professional pharmacists.
- Medicinal minimalism.
- Clinique was the first to do it, back in 1968, with white-coated saleswomen and scientific design.
This strategy is called “unselling”. It is, of course, nothing of the kind. “Unselling” is just an effective way to sell stuff to one group above all: millennials. So, if you’re targeting this demographic, turning your label into an ingredients list gives a reassuring impression of transparency and authenticity.
The point-of-sale is increasingly a smartphone: if you are trying to sell through a small screen then stark, legible packaging is more important than ever.