In honor of the Morton Salt Umbrella Girl’s 100th birthday, the Chicago-based company has undertaken a brand refresh encompassing 100 SKUs to “modernize the brand and drive greater relevance to consumers today.” That’s according to Morton Salt Director of Communications Denise Lauer who explains that the design update was also an attempt to create a more consistent look and feel across the company’s portfolio of products.
Remaining virtually intact with the refresh is the iconic Morton Salt Girl, who made her debut in 1914 along with the “When it Rains it Pours®” slogan to help illustrate that Morton Salt could flow freely, even in damp weather—a major product innovation at the time, says the company. Since then, she has grown to serve as a trust mark on a full range of Morton Salt products for consumer and industrial uses.
In keeping with the new design strategy of a more modern, cleaner look, the Morton Salt Girl has been updated with subtle, simplified line work meant to bring more focus to her. “Through our latest market research, we know that the Morton Salt Girl is synonymous with the brand, and her timeless, classic look still resonates with consumers today,” says Christian Herrmann, CEO of Morton Salt. “However, we also knew there was an opportunity to make the brand look and feel more modern and approachable.”
Among the most notable changes to the branding is a new logo that features a fresh and friendly font, while maintaining the bold, all-caps style. The letter “R” in the new “Morton” word mark also carries a slight kick to mimic the Morton Salt Girl’s step. Other changes include the introduction of more contemporary fonts for other copy as well as simpler communication hierarchies. Carried over from the previous design is the brand’s iconic colors of blue and white.
To create the new designs, Morton Salt partnered with design firms Addison and Pause for Thought on the masterbrand strategy and the new logo and packaging, respectively.
A special birthday edition package for iodized salt will be available for a limited time in 2014, featuring a multicolored burst around the Morton Salt Girl and a banner noting the occasion. The new design system was launched in Q1-2014 on the company’s culinary salts, and will gradually be rolled out to all of its 100 SKUs, including water softening salts, pool salts, deicing salts, and Epsom salts.
