Through and through, this project is very unique, down to the product itself: a shaved ice cream imported from Taiwan, with a texture somewhere between sorbet and ice cream.

Design firm Estudio m Barcelona faced two challenges in bringing the eyescream brand to life. Firstly, to overcome the initial public distrust of a product largely unknown in Europe, and secondly, to make a rather ugly, amorphous mass of ice cream, with lots of sauces and toppings oozing about, appeal to an upscale local audience with high aesthetic standards for their food. “We decided to make a virtue of its ugliness, and build the creative strategy around that,” said creative director Marion Dönneweg. Working closely with the clients (Joad López and Federico Mendoza)—who maintained a receptive and constructive attitude, Estudio m Barcelona began a “deconstruction,” separating the ice cream and toppings. “As a key creative twist, we put two sugar eyes on the top of this ice cream mountain, making it a monster character that looks you in the eyes. The eyes immediately give it life and personality...it’s just amazing.”

From there, the naming became almost obvious: eyescream, which in English is pronounced like ice cream, but also makes direct reference to the eyes. A monster character was developed for each flavor, along with sophisticated packaging constructed simply and economically in the form of a tray that fits the ice cream container and two additional containers for toppings (jam, chocolate sauce, caramel, etc.).

“Being confronted with the actual location, we realized a self-service formula would best fit the product,” added Dönneweg, who devised low-cost solution of wooden boxes for the counter. Outside, a fragmented façade was constructed from a large sign with “legs,” that has the ability to break down into a number of signs—identity, product menu, etc..—when open to the public.