Visual Design & Art

O1 Sun Lamp (Overview)

Making light therapy lamps visible, credible, and accessible in China through visual and content design.

Branding
Packaging
Creative Direction
Launched Nov 2024

Timeline: Aug –⁠ Nov 2024 · 14 weeks
Type: Professional · nochtane
Role: Creative Lead · Brand & Packaging
Team: Jessica Zhan · Founder & CEO

My contribution

Brand strategy and identity, packaging and printed inserts, social media content, product photography direction and editing, market research.

Context

nochtane was founded on the belief that beautiful, functional products can help people care for everyday well-being. Our founder discovered lamps for winter depression in Edinburgh and a market gap in China. The technology needed no reinventing, so she ran operations in China while I designed the brand, packaging, and social media content from the US. I'm now leading design for our first smart lamp and its app.

Snapshot

Bright light was never the hard part

Problem

Around 5% of people in China have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but most have never heard of it. Mental health is heavily stigmatized, so buying a lamp for it can read as an admission. Available lamps were resold Chinese exports, in English.

Solution

Treating SAD takes bright enough light, nothing high-tech. A friendly, illustrated identity that reads as trustworthy, a science pamphlet in the box, and everything in Chinese make light therapy approachable and fun instead of embarrassing.

Outcomes

7,000+Units sold since launch

¥2.5MIn revenue (RMB)

4×Year-over-year growth

2,000+Customer reviews, many citing branding as purchase reason

4.95★Taobao store rating

300+Members in our fan group chat

1,670Fans on our Taobao store

∞Copycat shops stealing our images and name

Figures as of August 2026

Final Product

The lamp lit on an orange backdrop, among bananas, lemons, eggs, and bread.

A sticker of the mascot peeking up over an edge, with sparkles.

The lamp lit on a wooden shelf at home, a crochet flower and a floral mug on the table in front.

Four retail boxes stacked on an orange backdrop.

A sticker of a smiling sunflower in a pot.

The lamp resting on its box against a pale blue backdrop.

A sticker of one mascot tipping a water jug over another, splashing them.

The lamp beside a lime, a lemon, an orange, and a grapefruit, to scale.

A social post on how the body makes vitamin D from sunlight.

Two hands around the lit lamp in the dark, the fingers glowing red where the light passes through them.

The opened box, the lamp, and the printed inserts inside, the lid printed with a mascot reaching up toward a sun.

A sticker of two mascots walking arm in arm.

Three lamps on a dark staircase, warm through to cool white.

A social post, an illustrated guide to getting sun on a bike ride.

Two people playing a board game by the lamp's light.

The lamp lit on a desk by a window at dusk.

The user manual, science pamphlet, and sticker sheet, held in a fan.

The science pamphlet open, explaining why we need sunlight.

The sticker sheet, its illustrated stickers on a navy card.

Reviews

Customers cited the branding and mission as why they trusted us enough to buy. Many also opened up in messages about their own mental health, which is almost unheard of in Chinese e-commerce.

★ 4.95 · 2,000+ reviews

Translated from reviews on JD, Taobao, and RedNote (China's largest shopping and lifestyle platforms).

Super awesome!! Cute packaging, even came with stickers!! Love the sun lamp, feels like I'm warming up, so happyyyy

j***m · Nov 2024

I usually don't try new products, to avoid getting scammed, but the product design and description seemed very genuine. After receiving it I could tell they're doing this sincerely. Really like the brand concept.

j***c · Nov 2024 Condensed for length