The Marimekko logo functions as the starting point for the reform of Marimekko packaging.

Marimekko is a Finnish design company, renowned for its original prints and colours. The company’s product range includes high-quality clothing, bags and accessories, as well as household goods, from furnishing fabrics to tableware.

When Marimekko was founded in 1951, its unparalleled printed fabrics gave it a strong and unique identity. Marimekko products are sold in approximately 40 countries. In 2014, the brand product sales were EUR 187 million and the company’s turnover was EUR 94 million. There are over 140 Marimekko stores located around the world. The key markets are North Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The Group employs around 500 people. The company’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ Helsinki Oy.

The Marimekko logo was created in 1954. Armi Ratia wanted the logo to be simple and timeless. The logo was modified with Olivetti typewriter fonts. The company’s logo also served as the basis in this renewed packaging.

– When we began to renew the packaging, the idea came up of ​​using the Marimekko logo as a template. We are a company that is all about patterns and colours, so we wanted to also form a pattern from our logo, says Pirkko Heikkilä, Design Project Manager, who has run the Marimekko packaging reform project.

– The new bags and wrapping paper now allow for the topical reflection of new colour worlds in the packaging concepts of stores by conveniently only changing the print colours of the logo patterns. For example, the fresh pink and green found in the spring collections are, alongside the classic black and white, the first colourings of the logo patterns that our knowledgeable store personnel will apply to gift packaging, she continues.

Marimekko’s extensive lifestyle range contains products from dishes to home textiles, as well as bags, scarves and clothing. Logo printed bags and wrapping papers make it possible to create excellent packaging for various products.

– The different layouts of bags allow for the convenient packaging of various goods. Marimekko products are often bought as gifts, so the wrapping paper allows for the packaging of even the largest products. The usability of the bags has received good feedback from our stores. They are functionally diverse, says Pirkko Heikkilä.

The new packaging also serves the Marimekko store concept that was reformed last year, which supports the clarification of Marimekko’s collections and the visual image.

– Marimekko’s reform of the packaging materials originated from the desire to also update the store packaging to comply with the spirit and visual elements of the renewed collections. One of the first realignments in the reform was the unanimous decision of the project group to give up the use of plastic bags. Although the plastic bags used by Marimekko are made, in part, from recycled materials – and according to a survey it was found that on average the bags are used more than once – plastic remains an environmentally challenging material, says Heikkilä.

In the future, Marimekko products will be packed in paper with wood fibres that are fully recyclable and biodegradable in nature, originating from sustainably managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).