Insight
Sandoll produces a variety of brand merchandise every year. When people think of “Sandoll,” fonts are usually the first thing that come to mind. Perhaps because of this, many are curious about what Sandoll’s merchandise looks like. Today, we would like to carefully walk through the story of the brand merchandise that the BX Team has created over the years.
Q. Why does Sandoll create merchandise?
Yongho: Hello, I’m Yongho Lee, a BX planner. Sandoll creates merchandise to effectively communicate its brand identity and message. One of the strengths of merchandise is that it allows the identity embedded in a brand to be realized as physical objects. Within various points of contact with customers, the BX Team delivers a consistent brand experience while creating moments where that experience can continue to expand. Elements that represent a consistent experience include brand fonts, colors, and voice. These elements vary by brand, but we believe that few devices deliver an experience as dense and tangible as brand merchandise.
Yeoreum: Hello, I’m Yeoreum Kim, a designer on the same BX Team. In most cases, interactions between a brand and its customers are not situations where brand identity alone can take priority. More often, the product or service itself comes first. Brand merchandise, however, places a dense brand experience at the forefront in order to convey identity. That is why the BX Team cannot help but be deeply committed to merchandise.
Various ways to experience a brand
Yeoreum: As mentioned earlier, brand merchandise materializes brand identity. Experiencing a brand through tangible objects makes the impression clearer and more vivid. There is an old saying, “Hearing something a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once (百聞不如一見).” I think this saying aptly describes the appeal of brand merchandise.
In this context, much of the merchandise currently created by the BX Team is intended for BtoB purposes, as it allows Sandoll’s impression to be communicated clearly to business partners. Because the word “business” itself can feel rigid, brand merchandise serves as a device that helps conversations flow more smoothly, functioning as an icebreaker and enabling more natural dialogue.
Sandoll SWEET is a piece of merchandise that presents Sandoll’s fonts in the form of chocolate. Created with the meaning of hospitality and affection,
it was designed to make an encounter with Sandoll a pleasant and sweet experience.
Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
First impressions determine more than you might expect. With Sandoll’s sweetness captured in chocolate, try sharing it lightly with your partners.
It can help convey a positive first impression of Sandoll. Inside the chocolate, you will find fonts created by Sandoll hidden within.
Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yongho: The identity and messages embedded in merchandise naturally lead people to recognize the direction of Sandoll as a company. I believe that as these devices accumulate, they eventually help people remember Sandoll in a way that differentiates it from other brands. They may also become the backdrop that brings Sandoll to mind at decisive moments.
The word gyeolsim (決心) means to firmly set one’s mind. People in the past viewed the mind as something that easily drifts, which is why they expressed making a decision as “hardening the mind.” I believe this is where the role of the BX Team lies: persuading people and helping them form a firm commitment (決心) toward our brand.
Sandoll BLOCK is a character that gives form to fonts. Just as small blocks come together to form a single character, fonts are small units that make up the world. Fonts that carry the many voices of everyday life accumulate one by one, gradually making the world more beautiful. Everything begins with very small things. We hope that every experience with Sandoll becomes a small beginning that brings joy to everyday life. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yeoreum: I think it can be difficult for non-designers to grasp the specific impression of a font at first glance. In this context, Sandoll BLOCK is merchandise that makes the character of a font more clearly tangible. Through Sandoll BLOCK, I hoped people would better understand Sandoll’s services and experience them in a more approachable way.
「Sandoll Gwanghwamun」 is a practical font that preserves the identity of old metal type while reinterpreting it in a contemporary way.
Its practical value, together with the name “Gwanghwamun,” evokes King Sejong, who created Hangul.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
「Sandoll Gothic Neo1」 is one of Sandoll’s representative fonts, featuring a wide range of weights and an extensive family.
Like an endlessly expanding universe, it offers a broad spectrum of choices—much like an astronaut drifting through infinite space.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Yeoreum: I believe that fonts are the smallest unit in design. That is why the BX Team often refers to fonts as “atomic elements.” The message used to explain Sandoll BLOCK—“Just as small blocks come together to form a single character, fonts are small units that make up the world”—reflects this perspective of the BX Team. Just as a figure cannot be completed without a single piece, such as the right hand, we believe that creative work cannot be complete without fonts. To embody this concept, the packaging was designed as a single block piece.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Q. Why is your brand merchandise so diverse?
Yongho: Sandoll has a process in place that allows brand merchandise to be categorized and used according to each situation or intent. We classify them into welcome merchandise for first meetings, VIP merchandise to express appreciation, and special merchandise to celebrate together. The reason for setting up this process is our belief that the intensity of the brand’s message should be adjusted depending on the context of the meeting and how the merchandise is used.
In a first meeting where you are simply exchanging greetings, who would want to hear about a company’s founding philosophy or grand vision right away? Unless you are attending a corporate seminar, probably no one. Just as relationships between people require considerate pacing to develop positively, the BX Team believes that the way a brand approaches people must also be thoughtful.
Yeoreum: To add one more point, there is also an intention to make the experience of encountering Sandoll something people look forward to. With that in mind, I will explain the merchandise a bit more according to the categories just mentioned.
When we meet someone, we feel curiosity and anticipation arising from unfamiliar environments beyond our control—something random.
The BX Team identified this moment of encounter through welcome merchandise and designed the Sandoll BLOCK package as a random box.
Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
A random machine is installed in the office to convey more clearly the message of excitement and curiosity that comes from encounters.
Visitors to the office are given a coin to use the random machine. While everyone obtains a Sandoll BLOCK by operating the machine themselves,
each person experiences a different kind of encounter. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
VIP: You, special with Sandoll
Yongho: VIP merchandise is given as a token of appreciation to the many people who build relationships with Sandoll. Sandoll Soap, briefly introduced earlier, falls into this category. It is a special piece of merchandise that embodies Sandoll’s vision and service direction in a tangible form. It is provided for project contracts, collaborations, and new hires.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Sandoll Soap is a one-of-a-kind bar of soap. Created from leftover soap pieces that would otherwise be discarded due to standardized molds,
each Sandoll Soap differs in shape and color, making every piece unique and special. In this way, Sandoll, as a creator content platform that connects
diverse values, continues to create joyful experiences for a better world. Just as bubbles grow and give rise to more bubbles, happiness gives birth
to more happiness. We hope that moments with Sandoll become happy days, every day. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yeoreum: Sandoll Soap captures Sandoll’s diverse services and creativity through soap that inevitably varies in shape during the production process. Because leftover soap pieces are the protagonists, we intentionally reduced graphic emphasis and used wood as the packaging material.
The main graphic of Sandoll Soap simply represents soaps of different shapes, with dotted lines illustrating images associated with soap bubbles and foam. Through Sandoll Soap, we wanted to convey a business that might otherwise feel complex or heavy in a fresh and positive tone.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Special: Celebrating our hopeful future
Yongho: The special merchandise was created to celebrate Sandoll’s KOSDAQ listing. Sandoll Hop, made as a premium beer, was designed in line with its role as a celebratory drink and is provided to mark occasions such as project completions or campaign launches, conveying congratulations and commemoration.
Sandoll Hope is a premium beer infused with hope. Just as hops are the key ingredient that defines beer, the driving force behind Sandoll’s growth
has been the hope of creating a beautiful world through Hangul. Sandoll seeks to share that hope with many people and move forward together
to benefit a larger world. We hope Sandoll will be with you on the many celebratory days to come. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yeoreum: Sharing a drink has a way of bringing people closer, doesn’t it? Because it helps lower emotional barriers and share joyful feelings, I thought it was well suited to convey messages of celebration and gratitude. The graphic keywords for Sandoll Hope were ‘hope’ and ‘celebration.’ We wanted to express these through graphics that resemble a halo while also evoking fireworks in the night sky. The graphics applied to the package and label were produced using silver foil and red foil, so they sparkle even more when seen in person.
Q. Is there a concept that runs through all of your brand merchandise?
Yongho: The common concept shared by Sandoll’s brand merchandise is “goods that are beneficial to everyone.” As mentioned earlier, brand merchandise has many strengths. However, because so many brands attempt it, there are also many goods created with making itself as the sole purpose. Think of tote bags or mugs that almost everyone has at home but ends up not using and eventually discarding.
This is exactly the point the BX Team is most cautious about. As much as we focus on embedding brand messages, we also ask, “Will this be attractive to the person receiving it?” That is why the BX Team strives to create merchandise that anyone can actually use in everyday life.
Yeoreum: If possible, we also wanted the process itself to become a beneficial opportunity to experience something new. This is why Sandoll Hope was produced as a premium beer that many people are still unfamiliar with, rather than as an alcoholic beverage that can be easily found anywhere. We wanted to offer a new experience through an unconventional material form.
Yongho: Sandoll Soap being produced as part of the hanahzo per_gram project also aligns with what Yeoreum PD mentioned. By using discarded soap and participating in an eco-friendly project that donates to environmental organizations, we hoped it would become merchandise that offers a beneficial opportunity while positively transforming everyday life.
Sandoll Hope is a barrel-aged ale produced in a limited quantity, aged in oak barrels for 19 months and then blended.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
The per_gram project by hanahzo turns soaps that were discarded for their rough appearance into products for sale and donates
the proceeds to environmental organizations. Photo by — Kim Yeona
Q. When producing merchandise, is there anything you consider after branding?
Yongho: Just as it is difficult to clearly draw a line around what branding includes, even what comes “next” would still fall within the realm of branding. What the BX Team focuses on is how to reduce the burden on the recipient. This aligns with the idea of “goods that are beneficial to everyone” mentioned earlier—using products with consumable material qualities that do not remain unused, or recycled products that place less burden on the environment.
While it is important to visually convey brand identity well, we believe that every process of delivering and using it is also part of branding. Just as even the most moving message can feel different depending on the situation in which it is heard, the BX Team hopes that Sandoll’s merchandise will deliver a positive impact in every moment it is used.
Yeoreum: For me, the key factor is “fun.” As a designer, I both make a lot of merchandise and often see or purchase it elsewhere. At some point, ordinary merchandise stopped moving me at all. I think this perspective naturally finds its way into the BX Team’s outcomes. That is why questions like “Would this be interesting to receive?” or “Would this spark interest in our brand?” follow me almost by habit. Thinking this way repeatedly led me to realize that fun matters most. “Fun” can mean many things—wit that brings a small smile, something unique that is not ordinary, or a sense of newness one has never experienced before. We try to embed these various forms of fun into our merchandise, including the fun experienced by the BX Team in the making process.
Another point is that “fun” is also one way of reducing the burden on the recipient, as Yongho PD mentioned. Fun lowers psychological barriers and invites people to keep engaging with the object.
Brand merchandise that matters even more because it is Sandoll
Yongho: Sandoll provides a range of services based on fonts. In modern society, fonts exist as fundamental elements, much like air. Even in ordinary daily life, we encounter hundreds of fonts, yet they often go unnoticed—just like air itself. For this reason, Sandoll places importance on translating fonts into tangible products that can be experienced physically. Doing so allows the attributes and stories of fonts, as well as the direction Sandoll pursues, to be communicated more clearly.
Insight
Sandoll produces a variety of brand merchandise every year. When people think of “Sandoll,” fonts are usually the first thing that come to mind. Perhaps because of this, many are curious about what Sandoll’s merchandise looks like. Today, we would like to carefully walk through the story of the brand merchandise that the BX Team has created over the years.
Q. Why does Sandoll create merchandise?
Yongho: Hello, I’m Yongho Lee, a BX planner. Sandoll creates merchandise to effectively communicate its brand identity and message. One of the strengths of merchandise is that it allows the identity embedded in a brand to be realized as physical objects. Within various points of contact with customers, the BX Team delivers a consistent brand experience while creating moments where that experience can continue to expand. Elements that represent a consistent experience include brand fonts, colors, and voice. These elements vary by brand, but we believe that few devices deliver an experience as dense and tangible as brand merchandise.
Yeoreum: Hello, I’m Yeoreum Kim, a designer on the same BX Team. In most cases, interactions between a brand and its customers are not situations where brand identity alone can take priority. More often, the product or service itself comes first. Brand merchandise, however, places a dense brand experience at the forefront in order to convey identity. That is why the BX Team cannot help but be deeply committed to merchandise.
Various ways to experience a brand
Yeoreum: As mentioned earlier, brand merchandise materializes brand identity. Experiencing a brand through tangible objects makes the impression clearer and more vivid. There is an old saying, “Hearing something a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once (百聞不如一見).” I think this saying aptly describes the appeal of brand merchandise.
In this context, much of the merchandise currently created by the BX Team is intended for BtoB purposes, as it allows Sandoll’s impression to be communicated clearly to business partners. Because the word “business” itself can feel rigid, brand merchandise serves as a device that helps conversations flow more smoothly, functioning as an icebreaker and enabling more natural dialogue.
Sandoll SWEET is a piece of merchandise that presents Sandoll’s fonts in the form of chocolate. Created with the meaning of hospitality and affection,
it was designed to make an encounter with Sandoll a pleasant and sweet experience.
Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
It can help convey a positive first impression of Sandoll. Inside the chocolate, you will find fonts created by Sandoll hidden within.
Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yongho: The identity and messages embedded in merchandise naturally lead people to recognize the direction of Sandoll as a company. I believe that as these devices accumulate, they eventually help people remember Sandoll in a way that differentiates it from other brands. They may also become the backdrop that brings Sandoll to mind at decisive moments.
The word gyeolsim (決心) means to firmly set one’s mind. People in the past viewed the mind as something that easily drifts, which is why they expressed making a decision as “hardening the mind.” I believe this is where the role of the BX Team lies: persuading people and helping them form a firm commitment (決心) toward our brand.
Sandoll BLOCK is a character that gives form to fonts. Just as small blocks come together to form a single character, fonts are small units that make up the world. Fonts that carry the many voices of everyday life accumulate one by one, gradually making the world more beautiful. Everything begins with very small things. We hope that every experience with Sandoll becomes a small beginning that brings joy to everyday life. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yeoreum: I think it can be difficult for non-designers to grasp the specific impression of a font at first glance. In this context, Sandoll BLOCK is merchandise that makes the character of a font more clearly tangible. Through Sandoll BLOCK, I hoped people would better understand Sandoll’s services and experience them in a more approachable way.
「Sandoll Gwanghwamun」 is a practical font that preserves the identity of old metal type while reinterpreting it in a contemporary way.
Its practical value, together with the name “Gwanghwamun,” evokes King Sejong, who created Hangul.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Like an endlessly expanding universe, it offers a broad spectrum of choices—much like an astronaut drifting through infinite space.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Yeoreum: I believe that fonts are the smallest unit in design. That is why the BX Team often refers to fonts as “atomic elements.” The message used to explain Sandoll BLOCK—“Just as small blocks come together to form a single character, fonts are small units that make up the world”—reflects this perspective of the BX Team. Just as a figure cannot be completed without a single piece, such as the right hand, we believe that creative work cannot be complete without fonts. To embody this concept, the packaging was designed as a single block piece.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Q. Why is your brand merchandise so diverse?
Yongho: Sandoll has a process in place that allows brand merchandise to be categorized and used according to each situation or intent. We classify them into welcome merchandise for first meetings, VIP merchandise to express appreciation, and special merchandise to celebrate together. The reason for setting up this process is our belief that the intensity of the brand’s message should be adjusted depending on the context of the meeting and how the merchandise is used.
In a first meeting where you are simply exchanging greetings, who would want to hear about a company’s founding philosophy or grand vision right away? Unless you are attending a corporate seminar, probably no one. Just as relationships between people require considerate pacing to develop positively, the BX Team believes that the way a brand approaches people must also be thoughtful.
Yeoreum: To add one more point, there is also an intention to make the experience of encountering Sandoll something people look forward to. With that in mind, I will explain the merchandise a bit more according to the categories just mentioned.
The BX Team identified this moment of encounter through welcome merchandise and designed the Sandoll BLOCK package as a random box.
Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
A random machine is installed in the office to convey more clearly the message of excitement and curiosity that comes from encounters.
Visitors to the office are given a coin to use the random machine. While everyone obtains a Sandoll BLOCK by operating the machine themselves,
each person experiences a different kind of encounter. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
VIP: You, special with Sandoll
Yongho: VIP merchandise is given as a token of appreciation to the many people who build relationships with Sandoll. Sandoll Soap, briefly introduced earlier, falls into this category. It is a special piece of merchandise that embodies Sandoll’s vision and service direction in a tangible form. It is provided for project contracts, collaborations, and new hires.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Sandoll Soap is a one-of-a-kind bar of soap. Created from leftover soap pieces that would otherwise be discarded due to standardized molds,
each Sandoll Soap differs in shape and color, making every piece unique and special. In this way, Sandoll, as a creator content platform that connects
diverse values, continues to create joyful experiences for a better world. Just as bubbles grow and give rise to more bubbles, happiness gives birth
to more happiness. We hope that moments with Sandoll become happy days, every day. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yeoreum: Sandoll Soap captures Sandoll’s diverse services and creativity through soap that inevitably varies in shape during the production process. Because leftover soap pieces are the protagonists, we intentionally reduced graphic emphasis and used wood as the packaging material.
The main graphic of Sandoll Soap simply represents soaps of different shapes, with dotted lines illustrating images associated with soap bubbles and foam. Through Sandoll Soap, we wanted to convey a business that might otherwise feel complex or heavy in a fresh and positive tone.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
Special: Celebrating our hopeful future
Yongho: The special merchandise was created to celebrate Sandoll’s KOSDAQ listing. Sandoll Hop, made as a premium beer, was designed in line with its role as a celebratory drink and is provided to mark occasions such as project completions or campaign launches, conveying congratulations and commemoration.
Sandoll Hope is a premium beer infused with hope. Just as hops are the key ingredient that defines beer, the driving force behind Sandoll’s growth
has been the hope of creating a beautiful world through Hangul. Sandoll seeks to share that hope with many people and move forward together
to benefit a larger world. We hope Sandoll will be with you on the many celebratory days to come. Photo by — Kim Yeoreum
Yeoreum: Sharing a drink has a way of bringing people closer, doesn’t it? Because it helps lower emotional barriers and share joyful feelings, I thought it was well suited to convey messages of celebration and gratitude. The graphic keywords for Sandoll Hope were ‘hope’ and ‘celebration.’ We wanted to express these through graphics that resemble a halo while also evoking fireworks in the night sky. The graphics applied to the package and label were produced using silver foil and red foil, so they sparkle even more when seen in person.
Q. Is there a concept that runs through all of your brand merchandise?
Yongho: The common concept shared by Sandoll’s brand merchandise is “goods that are beneficial to everyone.” As mentioned earlier, brand merchandise has many strengths. However, because so many brands attempt it, there are also many goods created with making itself as the sole purpose. Think of tote bags or mugs that almost everyone has at home but ends up not using and eventually discarding.
This is exactly the point the BX Team is most cautious about. As much as we focus on embedding brand messages, we also ask, “Will this be attractive to the person receiving it?” That is why the BX Team strives to create merchandise that anyone can actually use in everyday life.
Yeoreum: If possible, we also wanted the process itself to become a beneficial opportunity to experience something new. This is why Sandoll Hope was produced as a premium beer that many people are still unfamiliar with, rather than as an alcoholic beverage that can be easily found anywhere. We wanted to offer a new experience through an unconventional material form.
Yongho: Sandoll Soap being produced as part of the hanahzo per_gram project also aligns with what Yeoreum PD mentioned. By using discarded soap and participating in an eco-friendly project that donates to environmental organizations, we hoped it would become merchandise that offers a beneficial opportunity while positively transforming everyday life.
Sandoll Hope is a barrel-aged ale produced in a limited quantity, aged in oak barrels for 19 months and then blended.
Photo by — Kim Yeona
the proceeds to environmental organizations. Photo by — Kim Yeona
Q. When producing merchandise, is there anything you consider after branding?
Yongho: Just as it is difficult to clearly draw a line around what branding includes, even what comes “next” would still fall within the realm of branding. What the BX Team focuses on is how to reduce the burden on the recipient. This aligns with the idea of “goods that are beneficial to everyone” mentioned earlier—using products with consumable material qualities that do not remain unused, or recycled products that place less burden on the environment.
While it is important to visually convey brand identity well, we believe that every process of delivering and using it is also part of branding. Just as even the most moving message can feel different depending on the situation in which it is heard, the BX Team hopes that Sandoll’s merchandise will deliver a positive impact in every moment it is used.
Yeoreum: For me, the key factor is “fun.” As a designer, I both make a lot of merchandise and often see or purchase it elsewhere. At some point, ordinary merchandise stopped moving me at all. I think this perspective naturally finds its way into the BX Team’s outcomes. That is why questions like “Would this be interesting to receive?” or “Would this spark interest in our brand?” follow me almost by habit. Thinking this way repeatedly led me to realize that fun matters most. “Fun” can mean many things—wit that brings a small smile, something unique that is not ordinary, or a sense of newness one has never experienced before. We try to embed these various forms of fun into our merchandise, including the fun experienced by the BX Team in the making process.
Another point is that “fun” is also one way of reducing the burden on the recipient, as Yongho PD mentioned. Fun lowers psychological barriers and invites people to keep engaging with the object.
Brand merchandise that matters even more because it is Sandoll
Yongho: Sandoll provides a range of services based on fonts. In modern society, fonts exist as fundamental elements, much like air. Even in ordinary daily life, we encounter hundreds of fonts, yet they often go unnoticed—just like air itself. For this reason, Sandoll places importance on translating fonts into tangible products that can be experienced physically. Doing so allows the attributes and stories of fonts, as well as the direction Sandoll pursues, to be communicated more clearly.