Illustrator, textured paper, double-sided printing, embossing powder.
Designing a brand and set of labels for the debut line of products from a local meadery.
Small batch and hand-crafted from local ingredients, each batch of Midnight Mead is aged for a minimum of 12 months giving it a smooth and bold flavour profile.
The bottles I used for this product line were quite small—which presented a unique challenge for designing the labels.
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After sketching countless ideas, I narrowed it down to two distinct brand directions.
One is an un-named brand focusing on the all-natural side of the business and product.
The other is Midnight Mead, inviting curiosity and intrigue while tying in the magic and charm surrounding the beverage. Mead is not a new beverage, and has been referenced throughout history and fantasy as "the nectar of the gods".
Plus, the name Midnight Mead allowed for ample attempts at alliteration.
Working in Adobe illustrator, I created a wordmark for the brand, and visuals for the three flavours in this line. I wanted the labels to reflect the small-town, hand-made values of the company through the use of textured labels, and hand-drawn inspired type. After many test prints to get the colours right on my chosen watercolour texture paper, I added heat activated embossing powder to add texture as well as a little celestial shine. I also printed a pattern on the back of the labels that can be seen through the lighter flavours/empty bottles, as a nod to the honeycomb that makes mead possible. Using sticker paper, I created a custom “tape” seal to further tie this to the brand.