VTS analysis
What’s going on? – What do you see that makes you think that? (What more can you find?)
Midaus Nektaras
- vintage style type – conveys a classy and sophisticated brand identity. Comparable to visual styles used within the last 200 years. (Also implies a certain high quality of the product)
- decorated with flourishes – emphasises and extenuates the type used on the letter M. Again calling back to the last 200 years of alcohol design. (Use of lighter pastel colours so not to over power the image of the M and leads the audience’s eyes towards it)
- Company brand at the top – highlighted in a brighter colour but not so bright as to take away from the main focus of the label which is the M. (used to create a familiarity with the audiences and also acts as a quality assurance guarantee stamp).
- raised patterns on the label – possibly to show off quality of the product and also emphasise the quality vintage aesthetic of the product. (shadows that the raised patterns make allow for the label to be more eye catching and unusual which can effectively pique interest)
- heavily decorated bottle design – it is unclear from the angle of the image whether or not the illustrations are on the back of the label or is itself the label. (complimentary colours of the blue and orange used make the bottle more eye catching)
- seems to be Asian inspired – the architecture and the dragons in the background are a tell tale sign as well as the boats. (not strictly an assumed to be an Asian drink however as there is a western man garbed in gentlemanly clothing)
- foil wrap around the lid – foil often implies a higher quality on bottles as there is more of an effort involved to unscrew the lid to get to the liquid. (it can be assumed that the company logo is hanging off the piece of string which conveys a degree of confidence from then that they do not feel the need to display their brand as much as others do)
- clear bottle – from my research Gin bottles are usually clear or green although I am unsure to why this is. Possibly to emphasise its purity like vodka? (they are also very angular as opposed to beer or vodka bottles as well)
- angular bottles – from my research I discovered that bottles had flat surfaces in order to be packed together efficiently. (they would not roll if placed on their sides either which could assist in preventing bottle breakages)
- wooden cap to seal the bottle – possibly a traditional aesthetic choice from the gin manufacturers of the past. Gives the bottle an authentic feel and therefore a perceived increase of quality. (nicely contrasts against a clear transparent bottle and therefore stands out amongst other bottles more effectively)
- white or green thematic – although there are some unique colour usages for Gin that exist such as Pink or purple, most gin bottles are either white or green thematically. This is possibly a reference to its natural roots and distilling process making it a more ‘of the earth’ spirit. (I came across in my research that the use of green and brown bottles was to improve the preservation of the alcohol by protecting it from UV rays)
- Flower and botanical themes – gin bottles have a distinct botanical theme surrounding them which further emphasises their connection to a more natural resource which results in a comforting and homey atmosphere which may suggestively put their consumers as ease. (also to literally show the ingredients the gin is made from without the possible need to included it in text form which industries now hold to standard)
- labels located around or within the area of the bottle neck – again this could be a marketing strategy to instil a projected quality within the product because it communicates that the manufacturers put in extra effort to make their gin feel special (also compliments the design on the bottle as it leads the audience’s eye towards the main attraction of the logo/label)
Development
From my research, I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to present to the client because I did not fee comfortable using 3D graphics software with such a short amount of time I had to hand in to the Company themselves.
Luckily with the guidance of my tutors, I realised that it is only ‘conceptual’ and does not have to look like a finished product, it only has to be ideas and so I took to illustration to present my work.
I looked up online of bottle illustrations and concepts and the technical drawings that I found were what inspired me to continue with the style I went with in the form of sketches and digital paintings as I feel like that is the style I have personally developed as a graphic designer. The sketches I found displayed the shapes of the bottles and by using values to provide the audience with the shape and lighting of the bottle which makes them slightly more tangible and clear.
I sketched a few ideas on my ipad similar to the same style as the researched images in that I just sketched a few rough shapes with inspiration from my research and then I would further develop the previous bottle shape by adding on or taking elements away. I also tried to sketch out bottles and resemble them as close as possible in order to trigger some divergent thinking.
Whilst developing my bottle idea it occurred to me that because gin bottles seem so angular most of the time with their rectangular bottles, I discovered that a of of my sketches resembled a jewel of some kind. I am an avid video game fan, interested in the high fantasy genre where gems and magical crystals are commonplace. I sought out material which resembled such items in order to proceed with the convergent ideas process.
First of all, I looked around for bottles with crystal like designs because that would be the foundation of what I would base my bottle and my brand off. I did not use strictly Gin bottles as there was a wide range of spirits which had jewel/crystal like shapes. A noticeable advantage of having a crystal shaped bottle is that, in my opinion it shoots the special factor sky high and the bottle will definitely be noticeable and stand out from any other generic design it is next to on shelves. The reflection of the light because of the shapes of the glass will produce a sparkling effect and audiences may assume that there is not question on the quality of the gin as well as the manufacturer.
However, if the bottle is overly shaped like a crystal such as the bottle in the top left, packaging and transporting as well as stacking on shelves would be difficult. I will need to find a good middle ground so as to make sure the design does not go overboard.
Below is the first bottle concept I came up with and it was heavily inspired by the slideshow images above. The images above are ‘mana potions’ and they are very prominent in high fantasy games which involve magic and it is used as a means to replenish a character’s magic capabilities. I was really drawn to these designs because they are very unorthodox compared to conventional bottles in the real world and I thought that basing my bottle design off these would help make it stand out.
There is a lot of decoration and ornaments involved with the bottles and this could be seen as impractical and unnecessary, however I see it as an opportunity to project the products uniqueness and specialness. I also like the fact that the design compliments the air of magic which surrounds the potions and I like the way it reflects generation Z as a generation who live in an age where everything in daily life would be considered magical or fantasy centuries ago.
Feedback I received from this design was positive and my peers felt like I successfully captured the essence of the mana potion and an image of a crystal. However, my friends who voiced their opinions also understood what the context was behind the design and are familiar with such games they are involved in. People who were not so familiar commented that it looked like a candle with a purple flame and since I am trying to mostly appeal to the entirety of Generation Z I would not want them thinking they are drinking from a candle.
And so I designed a bottle like this. A kind of inverted diamond shape to conform to normal bottle designs although not as clear as I hoped the bottle is transparent as well as in the shape of a jewel as well as containing a jewel inside which will act like a extended chilling ice pack after taking the bottle out of the fridge to keep the liquid cool for as long as possible. There is a wrapping label at the top reserved for the logo in isolation against a white background. Feedback pointed out that it was more crystal like than the last one and although it lot its sense of magic it still looked like a quality product because crystal are often associated with cost and class.
For the logo design, I wanted to stick to the crystal theme and so I looked around for logos and designs with crystals in them. I wanted the crystal to be the centrepiece of the logo but I also needed it to be simple because I would not want something complicated as a silhouette. Below is a slideshow of the research images I took a interest in and wanted to base a design off of.
Below is the first rendition of a final logo concept after some variations of the logo I attempted to make the whole thing gold including the line work in the centre of the laurels however the outcome was not very good against the light background because the line work was too thin and hard to see. I had to redesign the whole thing to make it more noticeable.
Below is the final rendition of the logo. As you can see it has evolved into a full on label which will wrap around the front of the crystal shaped bottle and the emblem is similar to that of classic Gin brewers like a stamp or their seal of approval (a guarantee that the quality is top notch) and I think the laurel helps improve this notion .
I chose the name Crystalline because it fit the theme of the crystal shaped bottle and crystal shaped design. I chose to keep the rest of the label as simple as possible because I did not want to take away from the stamp or the bottle and I feel like it matches the wholesome nature of the gin industry which includes the use of botanical ingredients.
Final bottle concept
As you can see, I have made a label to wrap around the crystal shaped bottle and have put the laurel logo at the neck of the bottle whilst leaving the rest of the original drawings intact. Conforming to the industry standard of placing the brand or company seal on the label located at the neck of the bottle allows audience’s eyes to be led from top down to the design of the bottle as well as the label and its design. I chose a contrasting darker colour for the label in order to make the bottle and label compliment each other and stand out in their own element.
