Fjori Fora process of creating plant illustrations
From the series of posts about the design process – we present how the Fjori Fôra illustrations were created and why they are so important for this identity
The Ćurin family introduces natural products to the market, primarily cosmetics, with the foundation being a line of essential oils from wild and cultivated plants. On the island of Hvar, in the village of Gdinj, the Ćurin family has been cultivating lavender since 1955. The family eco project is led by the descendants of the family “leader,” who is over 90 years old and still actively working on the Hvar land. Due to the terrain configuration, very little machinery is used, so the plantations are still cultivated and harvested traditionally. The harvesting of wild plants throughout the island of Hvar adds special value to their products.
As plants are the fundamental value and starting point for all Fjori Fôra products, they also constitute the core identity and overall creative communication of this rebranding.
Therefore, all plants in the identity appear through illustrations created by transferring plants using traditional methods and techniques—directly from the plant itself. Similar to a herbarium, plants are pressed into clay, imprinted on paper or canvas, or depicted through encyclopedic studio drawings.
Illustrations created using traditional techniques were then implemented into the design in a refined and modern manner. So far, we have presented only the first phase—the new name, identity, and creative strategy that will be gradually applied to the entire product range, which you can read about here.
One of the techniques for transferring plants onto objects is pressing them into clay. The plant is pressed into moist clay by carefully arranging its leaves and branches using a rubber roller. After partial drying, the plant is carefully removed from the clay, and the clay is then either air-dried or further thermally processed. Some objects are later used for imprinting, like a negative stamp, for various illustrations within the identity of each product line. This process will also be used in the creation of unique items for the Fjori Fôra brand.
The second technique involves imprinting plants on paper or canvas. We apply color to the entire plant body using a rubber roller, and then carefully transfer the plant onto paper as a print. These prints are not particularly precise but create very interesting shapes of illustrations that clearly show they originated from immersion in liquid. This form of plant transfer is ideal for use within the identity of product lines for bathing.
For some premium product lines, we transferred plants by scanning or creating encyclopedic studio drawings because they required more precise and realistic representations of the plants.
All illustrations in this identity were created by directly transferring plants from trusted sources – the Ćurin family farm on the island of Hvar, just like all Fjori Fôra products are produced.
