The Brief
As part of this years competitive briefs I have chosen to do the Fever-Tree YCN brief.I have chosen this one in particular because I feel like this is an opportunity for me to produce some ethical design, given the charitable aspect of the brief, which requires the designing of a range of limited wrap bottle designs to accompany the brands premium range of tonic water and mixers.
The designs would need to engage existing and entice new customers to the brand, in order to highlight the brand's partnership with Malaria No More UK (MNMUK), as part of which Fever-Tree produce limited edition bottles which aim to raise money to celebrate World Malaria Day on the 25th of April each year.
The design should be a wrap design (which covers the entire bottle) whilst adhering to the current footprint of the bottle which inspiringly embellishing it with beautiful and sophisticated designs that are not childish in anyway, as it needs to stand out to the brands premium audience of 35-65 year old's who are willing to pay more for quality. The design must also incorporate the key information of the bottle such as brand and product name, description etc.
Designers are required to select at least one region from Africa, Asia, South East Asia, North & Central America, or South America. Having selected a region, designers are then require to produce a range of (at least 4) designs that are inspired and representative of a different nation within that region, that is affected by Malaria. Each bottle should be unique whilst maintain the consistency that is required for it to feel as part of the same family.
Country Research
The first step of my research was to take a look at the countries that were effected by Malaria. A list was provided in the briefing pack, which came from the UN.
I gathered the flag, national symbol as well as any national colours for each of the countries on the list, as this would give me a good idea of any symbols and colour palettes that could be used on the bottle designs. Once I had narrowed it down to a specific region - in this case Asia - I began to take a more in-depth look at each of the countries history and cultures to see if there was anything in these that could help produce a more identifiable design. Something that was interesting, and would also be instantly identifiable as being of that country. I had chosen Asia because I felt that this would give me a good chance of finding something that was unusual, as well as raising awareness of Malaria-effected countries that are outside of Africa.
Design Development
These are some of the initial sketches that I could use to wrap around the bottle such as flags of native peoples of Argentina, or national symbols such as the Sol de Mayo which sits in the middle of the Argentinian flag.
Similar concepts to these could be applied universally, using national symbols, or historically or cultural significant flags to the people of that particular country.These are some sketches showing how this idea could be applied. The left sketch shows the flag of the country being wrapped around the bottle with a white background.
The second idea shows how the flag being manipulated to form a ribbon in the space between the two labels.
The ribbon shape is popular with charities, and using this shape helps reinforce the charitable aspect of the campaign.
The third idea is a bit bolder. The front of the bottle is split into quarters around the label, and it would feature the countries national symbol such as the Sol de Mayo in the top right quadrant, accompanied with a flowing element through the other 3 quarters, in this case a river of stripes coloured blue and white - the national colours of Argentina.
The forth idea features a much more minimalist idea, with the flag just being wrapped around the base of the neck of the bottle. The background would be white to give a perception of purity. However this could become a problem with countries that have a flag that isn’t extend-able beyond its standard width dimensions, or a flag like Nepal that has an asymmetrical shape.
I think that the idea which features the quartered design looks a lot better and may be more in line with the premium image of the brand,
The far right sketch shows a more detailed/close up view of what the idea would look like using a country from my selected region. A Nepalese edition may include Mount Everest given that its summit sits in Nepal, and a national symbol of Nepal is the rhododendron blossom which appears on the country’s flag. Given that the country’s national colours are red and blue the blossoms would be coloured red, as the labels are usually quite lightly coloured and peak of the Mountain would be blue-ish with a white snowy top.
Other idea I have include using the Garuda symbology for an Indonesian inspired design. A Chinese inspired design may include using the Chinese dragon wrapping around the bottle or the use of cotton or paddy fields. I really like the Indian emblem that uses 4 lions, and could be used on four faces of the bottle but I don't think this is something that is easily associated to India.
