Development Log

Energy Drink Brand Logo

1 February, 202330 March, 2023 by ward2021

The product of this assignment is to create a stop-motion animation for an energy drink with a targeted audience of age 60 and over. The initial step is to create a conceptual logo representing the brand’s aim and purposes. This post’s content shows the brand’s development and its logo.

Research

Figure 1: 8 popular energy drinks showing the logo and packaging designs.

While exploring existing energy drink designs is helpful, they primarily target the younger generation. The task is to create an energy drink with a targeted audience of 60 plus which fits different purposes than a popular brand such as Red Bull, which is often used pre or post high activity.

With having an older target audience, it is essential to understand what they may be looking for in an energy drink. A handful of brands provide a boost to the elderly generation, mainly in the form of a shake, shot or powder. A common find is they provide high levels of nutrients, multiple vitamins and smaller amounts of caffeine compared to the popular brands.

A good design is always memorable; the energy drink brands displayed in figure 1 have a memorable logo, mascot or packaging design. Each brand has many different approaches to how they have chosen to make its brand memorable. An excellent example is Red Bull, which uses a bull as its mascot.

In terms of design, taking the targeted audience into account is essential. The imagery does not always have to correlate with their age, especially regarding energy; the design wants to make them feel young again, which can also be used to reflect the number of nutrients the audience gets, which will rejuvenate them.

Energy Drink Name

My initial step was creating a mind map filled with name ideas; Figure 2 displays that. By doing so, I explored a good handful of names before making a final decision.

Figure 2: A mindmap of potential names for the energy drink brand. The names are somewhat grouped into subcategories focused on the target audience, energy, fruit and others.

Due to indecision, I created a google form shared on my Facebook, where I have elderly family members that could aid in the decision. Thankfully, some of these family members shared the post with their friends to participate in; this allowed me to get a broader range of feedback from the targeted audience.

After a few days of the post being live, I concluded the questionnaire. I totalled each vote up and decided to use the highest voted name, Spring.

Expanding on this, I created a second mindmap to develop a further understanding of the name.

Figure 3: A second mindmap exploring the name Spring, helping understand how the word’s meaning and feelings can reflect the brand and what the brand aims to do and achieve. The mind map also explores possible slogans for the brand concerning the name and the theme of energy. The idea of seasonal fruits came from the name itself; this will help further reflect the name.

About the drink

The energy drink aims to provide the target audience with essential nutrients, multiple vitamins and a burst of energy. With the decline of food intake as people age, they begin to lack the basic amount of vitamins and nutrients; the purpose of the drink is to fulfil their needs.

Design Planning

The idea I had in mind when drafting logos was the youthfulness of the name. I aspired to a more modern look; I wanted the logo to be bold and clear to understand. However, I also wanted to create an aspect of nostalgia to prompt the customer to buy the product.

Typography

I researched many different looks of typography from the ’60s to have a glimpse at what the designs looked like from that era. Whilst I aimed for the logo to appear modern, I also wanted to bring a sense of nostalgia through the typography.

A wide range of typography styles was used in the ’60s, but the general consensus was that it was either bold or cursive, sometimes both. I chose three examples as inspiration.

Figure 4: I enjoyed this example the most; whilst the typeface was within the ’60s era, the image design I felt was modern, which is the look I aspire to achieve. The typeface is bold, which allows the logo to stand out.

Figure 6: This example is somewhat quirky; it was heavily used for movie posters during the 1960s. Even though the font was used many decades ago, it is still in use to this date. TV shows like Spongebob Squarepants use this design in most episodes.

Colour

Between the examples of spring colour palettes and the colours in the designs of figures four to six, there is such a wide variety. Depending on the typeface that I will eventually choose to be part of my final design will be when I feel it is best to select the colour palette. There are other factors to consider regarding colours, as this may change according to the drink’s flavour.

Inspiration

Logo Development

After researching, exploring typefaces with different design styles and looking for inspiration, I began designing the logo. Due to the drink focusing around the idea or providing much needed nutrients and vitamins, I wanted to incorporate fruit imagery as fruit provides a strong source of nutrients.

Figure 8: Here, I am attempting to explore simple conceptual design ideas using the same typeface design throughout. The typeface was inspired by the font used in figure four which was used in the ’60s. I wasn’t particularly impressed by any, nor were they conceptual enough.

Figure 9: I explored a different typeface on this design development board. This typeface doesn’t necessarily fit with the ’60s era; this would mean heavily relying on the colour palette to bring the nostalgia through.

Figure 10: This development board used the same typography as the previous board. The imagery was inspired by an image on the mood board I created on inspiration along with the design in figure four. I took a liking to this design and tried it in different orientations. Whilst the design has a modern feel which is something I was aiming for, both the typography and/or colour scheme needed a more nostalgic feel. However, with the packaging design in mind, if I were to alter the colours, this would make a great design as the imagery would change depending on the flavours of the drink.

Figure 11: This is the final development board; it contains three different designs and one which is similar to those in figure 10, the only difference being the typeface. While I enjoy the look of image 21, I feel it doesn’t read clearly and is particular to one fruit. Adjusting the text according to the fruit would mean the logo appears different each time. While researching other brands, they always stayed consistent in their logo.

Again, due to being indecisive, I created a google form to have the opinions direct from the target audience. The results of the form reveal that there was a tie between two of the logos. This prompted me to combine the two and explore what that would look like. I also switched up the colours to perceive a more vintage look, as the typeface didn’t look nor feel nostalgic.

Figure 12: This is the final drafted logo that I chose for the branding. I have used the typeface from image nine and the design from image 14. I have also altered the colour to appear more vintage to align with attempting to incorporate a nostalgic feel. The image of half of an orange will change depending on the drink’s flavour.

Final Logo

Initially, there will be four flavours of the drink, Kiwi, Grapefruit, Orange and Apricot. Accompanying the primary logo, I have also created a single icon per flavour. From previous research, most soda cans use small icon branding near their ingredients; this is something I aim to follow through to allow the cans to look as realistic as possible.

When exporting the logo designs, the colours appeared brighter than what is on the file itself.

Kiwi

Grapefruit

Orange

Apricot

References

Vandelay Design. 2023. 40 of the Best ’60s Fonts for Your Retro Designs. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.vandelaydesign.com/60s-fonts/. [Accessed 23 February 2023].
Sporked. 2022. Best Energy Drink: The 8 Best Energy Drinks for a Boost. [ONLINE] Available at: https://sporked.com/article/best-energy-drink/. [Accessed 23 February 2023].