I definitely bought Arko for the artwork. The label screamed masculine tradition, and at a price I would pay for a sample.None, or wait, maybe an Arko stick.
I think people are missing the fact that if they avoided anything because of graphic design, and went and bought something else with a design they preferred, whether it was a bad craft show label or MdC, the designs still guided their decision.
Certainly if you don't have anything with a big artistic expression among your twenty soaps, then you were guided by artwork and design.