Design Takes-Dec. 2024
This month has been as hectic as expected, but I still wanted to share some Design Takes with you before wrapping up the year.
While browsing the Beverages section at Sainsbury’s the other day for gift ideas, I came across a bottle of whiskey with some questionable design choices.
Beverage labels are a unique category in graphic design, practically a standalone branch. With modern printing techniques, there are countless possibilities for creative design decisions.
In this article, I’m showcasing just one potential improvement for this label. Since beverage labels heavily influence quality perception, I felt it was worth exploring at least one layout suggestion to highlight its potential.
This Round Up: Kentucky Whiskey
Pro’s
follows a grid layout
contrast in type & colours
Not So Pro’s
type choices
graphic elements position
“white” space usage
illustration in relation to type
Beverages are a unique category in label packaging design, heavily reliant on printing techniques.
This gives many possibilities and layouts to explore. It can also influence buyer’s mind about the quality perception of the product.
Despite a clear product name, the design features unbalanced elements—K, B, and N (marked) are disproportionately enlarged, with a white swirl cutting through the text without any clear connection. Perhaps “aesthetic” reasons were behind this, but it looks unbalanced and without purpose.
Graphic elements are placed without much consideration of the surrounding white space. While there seems to be a grid guiding the layout, the alignment could be improved. The descriptive text beneath the title is centrally aligned, creating large gaps around it. Additionally, the illustrations could be better positioned to establish a stronger connection with the descriptive text.
Here’s how I would see it
Whats different
New text layout featuring a fresh lettering display for the title.
Redesigned barrels and updated the top illustration.
Positioned “Dixie Pete’s” as a signature next to the illustration, reinforcing it as a statement for the product.
I’ve added new decorative elements to maintain the brand’s preferred “swirl” motif.
I've improved the grid and adjusted the text alignment to balance space better and content display.
If you made it this far in this article, I very much thank you and congratulations, you’ve learned something, even if maybe it was just out of curiosity. :)
While the focus is more on analysis than correction, these monthly sessions are all about exploring what’s out there, brainstorming, understand and why not, make it better.
If there’s something you’d like me to review for these sessions, feel free to send me an email!
I’d be happy to take a look and include it in an upcoming article.