Monga’s packaging for Brownie Points schools in how to do 70s style differently

If you check out Brownie Points, an online store by artist and comedian Rinny Perkins, you’ll find candles, jewellery, clothing, prints, stickers and more, all made to champion “showing up as we are” and “not holding our tongue when it comes to dating, sexuality and mental health”. After – inevitably – making an order, you’ll also get to experience the latest packaging from Florianópolis-based studio Monga, a trip of swooping type, juicy palettes and fruit sticker-inspired graphics made to bring the 70s into 2022.

Brownie Points was born in 2017 out of Rinny’s 70s-inspired collages and self-published zines, so the decade has always been central to the retailer’s DNA. The artist reached out to Monga, then, with the intention of keeping the brand’s same “fun” and “bold vintage appeal” but making it “aesthetically elevated to be recognisable”, Monga tells us. The new direction can be summed up in a simple brief from Rinny: “late 70s, early 80s, but more contemporary.”

Delivering this balance of vintage modernity is a challenge laced with potential pitfalls. But Monga manages to distil some of Brownie Point’s major loves – like Donna Summer and vintage Ebony and Jet magazines – via grainy textures and orange-hued gradients, and let’s not forget the excellent use of type on the work. For which, Monga turned to Rabbit Hole Display by BOAFFF, a decorative typeface originally inspired by Alice in Wonderland. But rather than reflecting its fairytale origins, Rabbit Hole Display manages to evoke the curvature of modular 70s furniture and conversation pits when paired with the rest of the Brownie Points brand.

For a final challenge, Brownie Points’ products are often full of “relatable, uncensored” and unapologetic messaging, meaning text-based slogans and labels were imperative to the work. While the studio lists no one specific visual influence in shaping the project, Monga drew from vintage advertisements for inspiration but also looked to fruit stickers, stamps, and other labels. See how the studio distils these ad compositions below in the new labels, promo posts, and sticker-covered packaging for Brownie Points.