Big names back Sainsbury’s By line

Sainsbury’s launches its premium non-food range By in stores across Britain this week, with identity, naming and packaging by Conran & Partners and in-store graphics and merchandising by Portland Design.

The supermarket has been trailing major competitors such as Asda and Tesco. The By range – which includes kitchenware by Terence Conran (toaster pictured), flowers by Orlando Hamilton and homewares by Orla Kierly – is its heavyweight attempt to regain market share.

Conran & Partners brand development director Jill Webb says there are two key elements to the identity. It uses typographic construction lines to ‘remind people that the collection is designed from the ground up’ and a black and white palette.

‘We chose a neutral colour palette because it’s pure, strong and, especially in the context of a supermarket space which is full of colour, delivers a powerful message,’ claims Webb. Packaging features line drawings and photography of the products and an emotive ‘love line’ to humanise the product, she adds.

Portland Design managing director Ibrahim Ibrahim says the group was briefed to highlight the range’s premium positioning in its design for the store fixtures. The design takes its cues from the predominantly black palette.

‘We’ve used sophisticated and understated colour and simplistic geometric forms to cut through the visual clutter and achieve standout for non-food,’ Ibrahim explains.

Graphics reference the design process, he adds, and feature images of technical drawings.