Swizzle cocktail-in-a-can

Solo
Packaging
3 weeks
20 hours
Illustrator, Photoshop
Problem
Swizzle’s founders wanted to focus on the idea of spending less time planning and more time doing - being adventurous and having fun with friends. They needed a can design that highlighted the flavors of the beverage and the fun adventures people can have with drinks in hand.
Solution
This cocktail-in-a-can design communicates the brand mission and highlights the flavors of the beverage at a quick glance through the use of color, combination of two typeface families, flourished vector elements, and easy to read copy.
Research
The growing market of cocktails-in-a-can are a hot commodity currently and do not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Most cocktail-in-a-can packaging designs are either very minimalistic or illustrative/decorative. Their designs are distinct from beer and similar to contemporary wine-in-a-can packaging.

The demographics for Swizzle's cocktail in a can lined up are people ages 21 through 35 years old who enjoy going on adventurous and being physically active.
Process
First, the copy was laid out according to hierarchy. During this process, lines were added below the beverage name and the wave like imagery inspired the design exploration moving forward.

Inspiration was collected in the field by spending three plus hours at Total Wine and More studying beer can designs and taking pictures of the most influential to this project. In the end there were 50 photos with the moodboard narrowing it down to just three.

The visual design was to focus on the first person, paddle boarding  experience: What would it feel like to be on a paddleboard? What would you see? These questions were the pillars of the system, bringing the mission of the brand back into the design process.

When designing the initial moodboard, it was discovered that the typefaces selected were not aligning with the goals of the design. After studying the inspiration closer, a more robust script typeface “Parkside” as well as a complementary, clean sans “Mr.Eaves Mod OT” were chosen.

The visual combination of a lemon paddleboard was a simple yet effective way of connecting the two idea of “paddleboard” and “sour” visually. This was an idea from the very beginning however I did explore alternatives before simply going with my gut.
before
After
AHA!
The use of the letter “S” in the font Parkside to create the stylized waves for the background. It not only looks very aesthetically pleasing, it also inherently complements the visual system since it originates from a font used within it.