Kiehl's Brand Book

2015 Brand Book
Guidelines for using
updated logo, colors,
typography and image

Kiehl’s Since 1851, LLC
Spring 2015

↖ JOHN KIEHL,
FOUNDER
160
YEARS
AGO
Kiehl’s was founded as an old-world
apothecary in New York’s East Villiage
neighborhood. Since then,
the Kiehl’s name has spent years of
blood, sweat, tears and free samples
to gain the accredation it has today. Though our
product formulas are tried and true, we decided
our branding could use a little updating. This brand
book will show what steps we’re taking to move
Kiehl’s forward and show pride in our heritage.

CONTENTS
Our Heritage...... 5
Logomark.......... 9
Typography........ 15
Color............. 19
Collateral........ 21

OUR HERITAGE

TIMELINE
1851
where it all started
The precursor to the original
Kiehl Pharmacy, “Brunswick
Apotheke,” begins to serve
patrons in the East Villiage
neighborhood at the
intersection of Third Avenue
and Thirteenth Street, known
as Pear Tree Corner
1894
the founding father
Apprentice John Kiehl
purchases the brunswick
apotheke; renames
establishment Keihl
Pharmacy
1921
in new hands
Irving Morse, apprentice to
retiring John Kiel, buys the
venerable pharmacy; Russian
family member Prince Karl
blends “Love Oil,” the original
formula for Kiehl’s Musk Oil
1961
skincare is for guys too
Aaron Morse takes over the
family business from father
Irving Morse and later
introduces dedicated products
for men
1964
made with love
Andy Warhol’s favorite
blue astringent is launched;
Calendula petals are hand
inserted into every bottle of
Aclendula Herbal Extract
Alcohol-Free Toner, still done
today
1970
give us a try
The Morse family starts to
dole out generous samples to
its customers
1997
a helping hand
Hand Care for a Cure is
introduced, the first Kiehl’s
product dedicated to a key
philanthropic cause.
2005
scientifically proven
Kiehl’s introduces
Dermatologist Solutions, a
collection to address specific
skin conditions.
Logomark Typography Color In Use
Our Heritage
6 7

LOGOMARK

SPECS
x
x /4
give us some breathing room. The Kiehl’s logomark
should be primarily shown in Kiehl’s Navy and should maintain
at least .25x space around it (one-quarter of the height of the
logomark)
10

HOW TO USE
we like to stay fashionable so we’ve come up with
these guidelines for using the Kiehl’s logo. Most times the
logo should be used in a dark color (navy or black) on top of
a white background, but can also be used in white or cream
on a dark background when appropriate.
avoid a faux-pas we don’t have rules about white after
labor day, but there are a few things we’d like to avoid. Don’t
use the logo where it’s hard to make out, like a dark logo on
a dark background or light on light. Also, Kiehl’s red should
never be a background for the logo as it’s too loud and tends
to vibrate.
12
we love new york the Kiehl’s
logo always looks good in white on
top of a historical photograph

TYPOGRAPHY
TYPOGRAPHY

TYPEFACES
BRANDON GROTESQUE
Light can be used at large scales where regular
or medium feel too heavy
Regular can be used for supplementary body
text or subheads
Medium is used for names on business cards
and can be used in all caps for headers or
subheads
BOLD LOOKS NICE IN ALL CAPS and
should be used for titles and headers
MERCURY G1
Mercury G1 can be used as body or caption text
when Prestige is inappropriate or too small.
If you want to spice things up a little, there’s
always Mercury italic, semibold and bold
Prestige
For that old-school pharmacy feel. Only use
Prestige at 8pt and in Kiehl’s navy where
possible. Prestige is used for customizable
information, like business cards or
personal letters.
SINCE 1851
Our Heritage Logomark Typography Color In Use
we’re old We love to talk about how long we’ve been in
the skincare industry. On signage, packages, or labels it’s
appropriate to add “Since 1851” in Brandon Grotesque Bold,
all caps.
16 17

COLOR

PALETTE
Kiehl’s Red should be used sparingly,
primarily as an accent color. Small
details, outlines, and stamps would be
appropriate in red but the logo should
very rarely be seen in this color.
PMS: 276
C=100 M=80 Y=0 K=60
R=0 G=20 B=102
HEX: #001466
Color
Kiehl’s Navy is the most common
color used in our scheme. It should
be used as a background color where
appropriate, or used in large portions
for shirts, posters, or other ephemera.
The Kiehl’s logo should be most often
shown in Navy, if appropriate.
PMS: 1788
C=0 M=85 Y=75 K=0
R=240 G=78 B=69
HEX: #ff2640
PMS: 7527
C=0 M=0 Y=5 K=2
R=250 G=250 B=237
HEX: #fafaed
Kiehl’s Cream is most commonly used
as the color of the logo when on top
of Kiehl’s navy. It can also be used as a
background where Kiehl’s Navy is too
heavy or dark.
20

IN USE

STATIONERY
vintage is in. Letterheads and business cards are styled after vintage prescription
cards and pharmacy documents, and primarily use Prestige, a typewriter-like font. All
stationery follows our color scheme and should be printed on paper as close to Kiehl’s
Cream as possible.
Our Heritage Logomark Typography Color In Use
it’s all yours All stationery
materials can be customized for each
employee or store location. Business
cards will be printed empty as a
template and employees will fill in
their own information.
24 25

EPHEMERA
Our Heritage Logomark Typography Color In Use
show it off Our logo looks
great printed on all sorts of things,
especially if it can be screen
printed or letter pressed (the more
authentic, the better.) All ephemera
follows the same typographic and
color guidelines, but over everything
this is the place to experiment with
colors and placement.
26 27