Beverage Label Assignment

Program: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

Discipline: Graphic Design, Product Design, Marketing

Course: TGJ3M, TGJ4O

Background

Packaging is a powerful medium to convey ideas about a product. Your first point of contact to a new customer is likely their eyes. Label design is something that product designers spend a lot of time trying to perfect, market testing different colours, shapes and layouts to see which one influences a potential customer the best!

In addition, beverage labels need to include information that is useful to the consumer, the supplier and others involved in the distribution process. Barcodes, nutrition information, recycling instructions and ingredients are all things that are required by law to be included on beverage labels by most regulatory institutions.

Research & Development (R&D)

When creating a new beverage for consumers, companies will often undergo many months of market research and development to determine what kind of person will buy their product. Research and development (R&D) is critical in developing a new beverage product that will appeal to a specific group of consumers. Through R&D, which usually involves inviting random people to focus groups, companies can gather information on consumer preferences, needs, and behaviors. This information can be used to create a product that meets those needs and resonates with the target market. Additionally, R&D can help companies innovate and create unique product features, such as flavor profiles, packaging, or nutritional content. By doing so, the company can differentiate itself from competitors and stand out in the marketplace. Overall, R&D is essential to the success of a new beverage product, as it helps ensure that the product meets consumer demands and effectively resonates with the target market.

You will do a little bit of pretend R&D and create a beverage that you think will captivate a target audience.

To start, let examine some popular brands that you may already be familiar with.

Pepsi ran several campaigns asking consumers to do blind taste tests of Coca-Cola products and their own Pepsi products and then pick their favourite without knowing which product they were tasting. The results of the test leaned toward a consensus that Pepsi was preferred by more shoppers. This campaign was successful in generating buzz around the product but also helped Pepsi Co. perform widespread R&D to gather more information about their potential market.

Marketing 101

After watching these videos, share your thoughts with a partner.

You will create your own beverage label for this assignment. Start by determining who your target audience for this beverage is.

The groupings shown here are just a few examples of groups that you could could market a product to. Add your thoughts to a scratch pad/document and begin exploring what identity you’d like to market to in this assignment. Do you want your beverage to give off a “cool and trendy” vibe or a “smart and sophisticated” feeling?

Think about what kind of imagery or iconography your beverage and target audience embody, similar to how the above have been dissected.. Create a list of potential symbols, icons and images that you might want to include. You will blend these elements and incorporate them as you see fit in to your design.

Ask yourself the following questions if you’re stuck:

What colours are typically used to advertise to this audience? Cool? Warm? Dark? Light? Pastel?
What imagery, icons, photos should be included in the center piece of your beverage?
What kind of emotion/identity is the label meant to evoke? Calm? Refreshing? Sleek?
Are any ingredients of this beverage worth including as an image on the label?
What would be some good selling points of the beverage to convince consumers to give it a try?

Age Group

e.g. Kids, Teens, Adults, Elderly

Gender Identity

e.g. Masculine, Feminine, Non-Binary

Nationality

e.g. Expatriate, Nationalist, Nostalgic

Profession

e.g. Students, Office Workers, Athletes

Example Audience

Children

Overall idea of sillinessBright coloursWavy non-uniform shapesCartoon Characters

Example Audience

Athletes

Sharp, clean, sleekScientific lookSense of formalitySlim bottle = slim body

Example Audience

Classy

Bold, clean, minimalistBlack and white photoSense of refined tasteHigh contrast, deep colour

Example Audience

Cute

Pastel, faded, lightLight, round accentsSoft colours, pink/blueWavy fonts, shapes

YOUR Target Audience

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Getting Started

Choosing a Size

Product Size

Make informed decisions regarding technical, non-aesthetic elements of your beverage label, such as the size and volume of the beverage container. These instructions will help you set up your document to match the size of your beverage container. Consider the various container options, thinking about factors like serving size, portability, environmental impact, and shelf space efficiency.

Adhering to Standards

Label Requirements

Using guidelines from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, you will develop a draft nutrition label that accurately represents the hypothetical beverage's nutritional content. You will also explore the process of obtaining Universal Product Codes (UPC codes) for their beverage products, and including the appropriate recycling symbols that are required for their beverage container type.

Developing a Look

Branding and Design

Put your research to fruition through the creation of their label. Here you will develop your label's background and centerpiece. The background portion asks you to experiment with various color schemes, gradients, textures, or patterns that align with your beverage's branding and target audience. The centerpiece is the focal point of the label, and you will be evaluated on how effectively you can utilize colors, imagery, and iconography to match the branding you have defined.

Success Criteria

Techniques

The completed design employs effective use of graphic design principles by incorporating advanced techniques and skills in the Adobe Photoshop program (custom brushes, blending modes, layer masking, etc.)

Technical Considerations

Technical considerations of the document (e.g. bleeds, contrast, accessibility, font usage, etc.) are thoroughly considered and carefully thought out, resulting in a detail oriented design with no discernable graphical errors

Branding

The completed design effectively represents the target audience using effective visual motifs, symbols, and typography. The design of the label effectively showcases the designer’s research and exploration of communicating identity.

Standards

Graphic design and product design standards for Canadian food and beverages are met and exceeded (nutrition facts formatted correctly, label centerpiece fits in the middle 1/3rd of the label, etc.)

File Submission

There are 2 file submissions for this assignment. You will want to export a high quality .png in CMYK colour profiles to be sent to the printer. Please ensure you are following the naming conventions below.

Name - Beverage Label.png
Name - Beverage Label.psd

Student Exemplars

Notes: This design has a strong visual balance between the center piece and background. The radial pattern that comes out from the center draws the eyes to the middle. The UPC on this one should be on a white background to ensure the scanners can detect the code!

Notes: The glow/fade and drop shadow around the center circle lets the centerpiece pop off the background a bit more. The black text for the ingredients may be difficult to read on the changing colours

Notes: The text and design of this label evoke a strong nostalgic feeling and demonstrate a universal theme. The nutrition facts should not be stylized however, as it is a legal requirement for the label to be clear and free of obstructions. The UPC code will likely scan fine, but it can be improved by having a contrasting background.

Notes: The UPC and Nutrition facts, and ingredients on this design are perfectly placed so that when wrapped around a bottle, all the elements are right next to each other with very limited extra padding.

Notes: The logo of this design very clearly belongs to a sport/energy drink. The sleek and sharp thick black and white lines give the design a refined and scientific feel.

Notes:

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