Afterglo is a Montreal-based online retailer of body-safe intimate and pleasure products, founded by Kim Levan and Khoa Lê in October 2020 and launched in May 2021.[1] The brand’s visual identity was created by the Montreal design studio Office of Demande Spéciale, with design and creative direction by Guillaume Lavallée and Maude Turgeon.[2]
Design and History
The identity was developed to reflect Afterglo’s values of “sensual and playful accessibility.”[3] The studio described the approach as simple and refined, matching the brand’s mission to demystify pleasure and create a safe space for exploration without judgment.[2]
Guillaume Lavallée of Demande Spéciale described Afterglo as “a brand that democratises sexuality and what intimacy means,” noting that the studio developed “a simple wordmark that expresses that with its intimate counter-shapes becoming a core brand element.”[4]
The identity earned recognition in the 2022 ADC Awards, where it received a Bronze Cube in the Branding / Branding Systems / Identities – Integrated category.[5] It also won a Silver Idéa award in 2022.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The central concept behind the symbol was to extract the counter-forms (the enclosed negative spaces within letters) from the Afterglo wordmark and bring them to the forefront of the brand. According to the studio, this evokes “the feeling of intimacy and the relationship that exists between the consumer, their pleasure and the product.”[2] The counter-forms function as a standalone graphic element drawn from the most intimate parts of the signature itself.[3]
The broader visual system juxtaposed “the living side of colour” with “the sensual softness of black and white,” using collages that evoke the proximity of bodies, the tactile nature of the subject, and the idea that different levels of intimacy can be explored.[6]
Typography and Design
The Afterglo website pairs two typefaces: Cardinal, an elegant serif by Production Type, and Aeonik, a sans-serif by CoType.[7] The brand’s web design was led by Louis Paquet, with development by Deven Caron, Pier-Luc Cossette and Luc Lapierre.[8]
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