Fizzy Moods
Package Design / Branding
The Idea
The goal was to create the brand and packaging for a soda company geared towards kids. From the beginning, I wanted to make the brand relatable. We all go through different emotions, including children. But at that age, they may not understand how common those emotions are. So I felt it could be helpful to explain the different moods in a fun way.
The Process
I began by making a moodboard with other sodas that have a variety of flavours. I also added in some inspiration of zany brand mascots to help me establish the personality and tone of the brand. I then sketched some fruit characters that represent different moods. As a fun idea, I went for alliteration for naming each mascot: Cheery Cherry, Angry Apple, Timid Tangerine, Brave Blueberry, Gloomy Grape, and Loving Lemon. I also sketched a layout for the bottle label to ensure I'm including all the mandatory information along with the mascots and imagery.
The Guidelines
Because I knew I would end up using many different colours to represent each flavour, I wanted to keep the brand colour scheme simple. I felt pairing purple and green would show a fun and zany tone. These colours also often represent sour and sweet when it comes to flavour, which would accurately describe this soda. Luckiest Guy and Baloo 2 are fun fonts that really captured the fun vibe of the brand.
The Mascots
I digitally illustrated my sketches in Illustrator and was sure to give them very vibrant colours and a thick black stroke to really ensure they stand out. The colours also enhanced the mood of each mascot. Green can represent envy, that often leads to anger. Red can be very happy and warm. Yellow can be fun, bright, and loving. Purple is dark and can look brooding and sad. Orange can be a colour that represents caution. And blue represents structure and reliability.
The Bottles and Labels
I created unique textures for the background of each label representative of each respective mood. The tagline to Fizzy Moods is "What's Your Vibe?" Each flavour asks if you match the mood of the mascot and I placed a fun blurb underneath this explaining the mood in a way kids can relate to. There is also a growing concern for the negative effects of sugar, so I was sure to include notification of the drink's low sugar content in a place that would be immediately seen by the consumer.
The Six-Pack
I created a six-pack layout while taking all the precise measurements into consideration. I wanted to ensure that each slot would fit the bottle snug, but not too tight. I made the design for each of the six flavours and a variety pack. I printed, cut, and assembled a prototype of the variety pack to see what it would look like on a kitchen counter. I am very happy with the result. It is vibrant and fun to look at. It would also greatly stand out on a store shelf next to other soda brands.
End Result
I learned that marketing towards kids can be delicate, especially when it comes to food and drink products. I feel that I handled this well by effectively demonstrating the different moods and ensuring that it's immediately pointed out that the product contains sugar. Overall, I found that when I'm working on a project that I'm having a lot of fun with, it really translates into the design itself.
Bonus: AR Experience
As an experimental extension of the brand, I brought some of my characters to life through augmented reality. To see how I did this, check out the tutorial article I published on Medium.