Astrid Stavro creates irreverent but bold identity for new cereal brand, OffLimits

Pentagram partner Astrid Stavro has designed the identity for a new cereal for adults, OffLimits. Created by Emily Elyse Miller, the upscaled breakfast cereal has a number of different flavour profiles dependent on your mood, each represented by a range of characters drawn by Shepard Fairey’s studio, Number One. These lively components then sit under a cohesive, type-led identity, created by Astrid.

Choosing to work with Astrid “to create both the packaging and a distinctive brand identity to perfectly embody OffLimits’ energetic and high-spirited attitude,” the most obvious Astrid Stavro design stamp is its leading typeface. Centred around the brand’s name which “serves as a dual purpose,” says its founder Emily, “It’s a playful take on the sugary treats that always seem to be out of reach when we’re young and also represents the element of defiance that’s ingrained in the brand’s DNA.”

To present this typographically, Astrid’s design team created a bold logo in which the second ‘F’ in Off “is just out of reach (or ‘off limits’),” explains Pentagram in a statement. “The logo is insanely perfect because it creates a veil of playfulness with a deeper meaning,” adds OffLimits’ founder. “It has this playful vibe you might associate with the curious nature of kids. But the true rebel mindset of the brand views the ‘F’ as defiant, flipping off the traditional ways of doing things and creating a new world of it’s own floating out of alignment with the other characters.”

This is accompanied by a bespoke typeface designed in collaboration with Emma Williams and set against the backdrop of a saturated colour palette, balancing the logo’s strong presence. “All of these work together to create a vibrant visual language which brings the high energy brand to life,”continues Pentagram. Several other details of the brand also aim to reassess the routine of breakfast. For example, the several characters designed by Number One with “their contrasting personalities” is part of OffLimits hope to “destigmatise difficult conversations around mental health.”

Each order also contains “a carefully constructed activity sheet with different stress and anxiety-relieving activities for people to work through.” The brand are also continuing the longstanding tradition of pairing give away toys with cereal purchases, creating the OffLimits online toy store, an arcade-style shopping experience where you can swap tickets collected from purchases in exchange for merchandise.

On working with Astrid and her team at Pentagram OffLimits’ founder Emily adds: “This is not your average cereal brand because there’s nothing average about the people who created it. I came to Astrid and her incredible team with a cartoon universe of real characters and emotions floating in my head. They extracted, organised, and created the rules of this world and the characters who live there.”