As an international leading brand and packaging agency, Cartils Company analyzes its recent successful cases in the beverage market and uses them as examples to elaborate in detail on the latest development trends of brand design internationally
As is well known, it is extremely challenging and difficult to establish sufficient brand influence in today's highly competitive consumer society. Therefore, all kinds of brand owners spare no effort and use every possible means to strive for consumers' attention in the overwhelming "flood" of brand information. Among them, there are many brands that have become classics for their successors to follow due to their successful image design and promotion methods, which have been refined over time. As an internationally leading brand and packaging agency, Cartils will analyze its recent successful cases in the beverage market here and take them as examples to elaborate in detail on the latest development trends of brand design on the international stage.
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After years of successful expansion, Heineken, based on the excessive number of bottle shapes used in its beer series, has decided to launch a brand-new, iconic bottle design at the right time to unify the packaging of its products sold worldwide. After much effort, Xili's packaging style that unifies its image not only clearly establishes the international image of its products, but also significantly improves processing efficiency and delivery efficiency. On the other hand, the design of this novel and highly successful product in the market also "reflects" Heineken's current successful brand operation status and good market reputation.
The continuous development of packaging printing technology enables designers to focus on every detail of product packaging. If you carefully observe the label design of Heineken Beer, you will notice that there is an oval design similar to a "racecourse" around its logo. It is precisely this design, as a consistent overall impression, that has been applied to Heineken's canned and bottled beers, enabling Heineken Beer to successfully present a unified family image no matter when or where. There are many auxiliary lines around the oval on the Heineken logo. This open design enables the bottle body and the label to achieve a high degree of integration. It is particularly important to emphasize here that the use of transparent plastic labels plays a very crucial role and also brings about an elegant transparent effect. It is also worth mentioning that Heineken's famous red five-star logo has been moved upwards to the neck of the beer, highlighting its clear proposition of further strengthening the manufacturer's confidence through the brand logo.
The neck of the improved Heineken beer bottle has been shortened by several millimeters and its volume has been reduced by as much as 3%. If you only look at these data, you may not be able to truly understand the profound impact brought by Heineken's innovative move. However, if you take into account Heineken's annual production of 3.5 billion bottles, the total weight of glass saved from this alone can reach an astonishing 14 million kilograms.
Heineken's packaging design is an innovative model in the beverage market. Its label and bottle blend seamlessly, complemented by an elegant transparent appearance, making it a classic that successors strive to follow. Another example of the perfect combination of the label and the bottle is Captain Morgan's Spiced, which is one of the famous brands under Diageo, the world's largest spirits company. Its innovative move lies in the fact that, first of all, it replaced the original brand name - Morgan's Spiced, and the label, as an important part of its brand image reshaping, boldly adopted the well-known pirate image. Although the overall structure of the product packaging has not changed and still uses embossing technology, the character logo of "Captain Morgan" has become the core element of the entire brand image. When creating Captain Morgan, the designer adopted a very delicate descriptive technique, vividly depicting a legendary and story-like figure within the limited space of expression.
Through the above two classics, Cartils Company has perceived a popular design trend in today's society that leans towards "femininity", that is, to showcase brand image through meticulous depiction and integration, just as we have felt in many well-known brands: the more exquisite the details, the more prominent the quality. Therefore, we can realize that in the process of rebranding, more attention should be paid to the integrated design of the label (2D) and the bottle body (3D), making them as harmonious and unified as possible, so as to create an overall image that is consistent both inside and out. In addition, when designing products, it is also important to bear in mind that the currently popular brand display methods are increasingly showing a trend of using more prominent brand descriptions and making labels visually transparent.
Before Captain Morgan Rum rebranded its image, Diageo also changed the bottle shape of Smirnoff vodka to make its appearance more refined and full-bodied. To enhance the sense of confidence conveyed visually by the product, a signature is placed around the crown on the new bottle, highlighting the long-standing and time-honored origin of Smirnoff vodka - the Pierre Smirnoff vodka factory, which originated in the Russian Empire era in 1818. In addition, during the design process, the manufacturer also adopted meticulous layout techniques and glass embossing technology. To highlight the effect of brand communication, Diageo has even gone so far as to change its original logo, aiming to capture the brand's charm through the new logo, hinting that it will bring consumers the brand's unique and historically inherited pure taste. The new image of Smino Vodka No.21 emphasizes its superior vodka quality and the sense of historical relics hidden in the era of the Russian Tsarist.
Recently, Jack Daniel's Tenecey Whiskey from the United States has also made adjustments to the shape of its bottle to make its appearance look more confident. Although the intrinsic value of the wine itself has not changed at all, Jack Daniel's has decided to further highlight its brand image by altering the shape of the bottle and the design of the label. The new label still retains its original high-quality feel and, by adding a touch of hand-painted texture, has weakened the overly dazzling decorative effect in the design. The new bottle's well-defined "shoulders" enhance a sense of confidence, just like the contours of a man, which are touching.
Introducing the contours that imitate the male body into the bottle design or enhancing the powerful and textured lines in the label design are both effective ways to convey brand confidence. Therefore, brand owners can adopt the above-mentioned methods to demonstrate that their brands are trustworthy, their quality is superior and reliable, and they are undoubtedly the leaders in this field. Cartils believes that in the future, the "masculinization" trend of some products will also become a mainstream social fashion. We will also see more and more brands using labels such as "muscular man", "broad shoulders", "powerful stance", and strong contrast. And by decorating the surroundings with metal objects, signatures, crowns and other elements to attract more consumers' attention, and even ultimately "conquer" them.
Let's turn back and pay attention to the foundation of the brand and the story behind it. This is another completely different approach to enhancing the effect of brand image promotion. In recent years, in the process of brand image repositioning, emphasizing the core value and foundation of the brand and discarding ostentation have also become new trends pursued by many brand owners. This is a trend of brand logo design highlighting the brand image by returning to its roots once again. For instance, the red Grouse, as the most well-known symbol of Famous Grouse whisky, has become a core element in the recent brand repositioning process. Although Whiskies has made countless modifications to its product packaging over the past 114 years and each bottle of whisky features the image of a red grouse, in the new design, the red grouse takes up an absolute space and dominant position on its oversized label, becoming the true "brand hero".
At the same time, when designing a brand, it is also necessary to take into account the concepts conveyed by its brand story, thereby conveying the brand message that the product is genuine, reliable and trustworthy. By enhancing the image of the "Red grouse", Weique Whisky makes it the most attractive part of the bottle and also an effective way for it to focus on telling the brand story. The use of the image of the red grouse to convey its profound historical background originated from the fact that when the British royal family and nobility entered Scotland for hunting and fishing at that time, wild birds represented by the "red grouse" could only be discovered here.
When Bacardi launched Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum, the logo design emphasized the story behind this sub-brand. The new product can be regarded as a classic gift for fashion adventurers. As it is processed in charred American white oak barrels, the textured bottle has a robust shape, looking very sturdy and full of masculinity. In addition, it also conveys the brand's origin and long historical background through the badge design. The label occupies the very middle position in the brand logo.
It is astonishing that Plymouth Gin has boldly created a visual experience that is completely contrary to its manly spirit. However, this new fashionable look has another central goal: to effectively enhance its "texture". Chivas Brothers adopted this fashionable appearance design as part of its marketing strategy to enhance the market position of Plymouth gin and thereby increase its price in the international market. Today, Plymouth Gin expresses its unique sense of historical heritage through its round shape and classical image on the bottle. The oval label has become its most enduring packaging image. A large number of copper wires and decorative designs highlight the elegant image of Plymouth Gin, serving as evidence of its high-level brewing techniques. The use of copper caps represents that copper kettles, which have been in use since the Victorian era, are highly respected and have a long history.
When it comes to "texture", one can refer to a limited edition whisky recently launched by "The Bold & Brave Port Co". This limited edition whisky comes in five very unique packages, and its simple handcrafted packaging technique also adds a lot of charm to the overall look. Cartils believes that in The process of brand design, using paper labels to emphasize the exquisite processing techniques of products is also a trend, and "The Bold & Brave Port Co" whisky has been ahead of the trend. They bring a unique sense of handcrafted craftsmanship through the old-fashioned perforated labels, and at the same time, each bottle body has an independent code. The labels bound and fixed with black rubber bands and the entire bottle body packaged irregularly, the application of these techniques effectively conveys the classic texture and the modern experience within reach, just like a "tattoo" that is unforgettable.
Next, we will introduce a classic case. It not only integrates all the above design elements but also makes a breakthrough. This is Grolsch Royal Beer under SAB Miller. Grolsch Royal Beer has been a regular customer of Cartlis. In early March this year, Cartlis was invited to design a complete set of brand-new packaging products for it, including bottles, cans and other products, with the aim of further enhancing the appeal of Grolsch Royal Beer on the shelves. The team of SAB Miller Company responsible for this project, together with the designers of Cartils, established a dedicated project team. Through continuous discussions and experiments, they eventually created an outstanding shape and touch for Grolsch Royal Beer. Firstly, this team focused its design on creating a globally unified visual identity recognition system, enabling consumers to identify the brand at a glance no matter where they are. Secondly, in the process of creating the visual identity recognition system, the team strengthened the brand value and highlighted the product features. Meanwhile, the "Grolsch brand badge" is also a highlight of this new application and an extremely important solution. The launch of the badge not only enhances Grolsch's brand value but also brings a fresher, more powerful and dynamic display experience. At the same time, the launch of the badge showcases Grolsch's long history, alluring brand story, and reliable quality assurance. The "crown" is a symbol of honor, showcasing more praiseworthy details of the product. The entire badge can be interpreted as: independence, craftsmanship, tangible authenticity and unparalleled luxury. But most importantly, it proves its brand value to the world and brings creative and personalized innovation to the beer brand.
In the new design concept of Grolsch Royal Beer, all the above-mentioned label design techniques have been organically integrated and applied. For instance, while emphasizing its processing techniques through design methods (Vakmanschap is meesterschap), its true brand characteristics are also strengthened; The exquisitely designed badges bring a delicate touch with strong "feminine" characteristics. Meanwhile, the use of badges also becomes a confident expression of the precise craftsmanship of the enterprise's products.
Youdaoplaceholder0 believes that the three mainstream trends in the design of wine packaging products may seem unrelated at first glance, but they are closely related in essence. During the design process, skillfully applying the above three elements can bring the brand closer to the core value of the product. Although the product demands we face are different, the demands of brand owners that their brands be more personalized, able to more directly display the value of their products, and thus stand out among numerous products are consistent. As for the design itself, we predict that 2012 will undoubtedly become the "Year of personality display".
Cartils is an internationally leading packaging affairs consulting service company and well-known brand founded in 1960, with offices in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and London, UK. It is also one of the earliest companies in the world to provide brand and packaging business consulting services. The services it provides for international brand owners include: brand strategy planning, brand portfolio management, and packaging design, including graphic design and 3D design. It mainly serves the high-end fast-moving consumer goods market. Cartils currently has 70 employees and the projects it is responsible for cover more than 40 countries and regions around the world. Its clients include: Grolsch Royal Beer, SAN Pellegrino Mineral Water, Carling Black Label Beer, Pago Fruit Juice, Cristalp Vodka, Wodka from Poland Wyborowa Vodka, Baltika alcoholic beverages and beers, Chateau Giscours, Ketel One Vodka from the Netherlands.
