Tools — InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Procreate

Problem

In the world of pre-batched cocktails there is an over-saturation of sweet classic cocktails on the market. We wanted to stand out and carve a new niche. We wondered what would happen if we explored more exotic flavors than the typical popular drinks. Instant Karma was developed to satisfy the craft cocktail connoisseur with an adventurous palate. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions were created so that everyone with an adventerous spirit could explore the experience. 

Background

Coming from a background in the service industry we both wanted to use the skills we’d honed for years and apply them towards the design field. Our product was to be ingredient-focused and adventurous, built upon the craft of mixology. We found inspiration from SE Asian flavors, and our branding was influenced by the neon lights of the major cities. 

0% of respondants considered themselves to be not adventurous when we sent out our survey inquiring about an audience for exotic flavor cocktails and mocktails.

Process

After an initial survey, we discovered there was a rather large market for our specialized product. People were intrigued by the concept, but we knew we had to avoid the pitfalls of overly complicated flavors that would never become popular. So we relied upon the feedback of seasoned bartenders to refine the flavors we started with. Exotic, but widely well-received was the goal. With user testing and feedback we were able to fine-tune our selection. Our drinks were appropriately named to combine the ingredients and cities they were inspired by. This influenced our photo shoot; where we used gels and styling to adequately portray our neon, sleek tone and ingredient-focused mindset. 

Summary of survey results:

Moodboard

Neon lit signs and simple line drawings with no shading led the tone of our moodboard. We chose photography and staging that was styled by use of brightly colored gels and high contrast.

Style Guide

Our Instant Karma logo uses a fun script that is modified and reminiscent of a neon sign. The body copy is a mix of an easier to read script with an all caps serif for ingredients and a funky but clean serif for everything else. We used black as the background of our alcohol beverages to make it feel like a neon sign lit up at night. We chose softer pastel hues for our non-alcoholic drinks to appeal to a wider range of ages.

 If this was a real world product we wanted to make sure it was cost effective. Therefore, we selected only two colors for each can using the Pantone Neon Spot Colors book. Our illustrations are clean and simple, echoing our ethos about ingredients and remember our original inspirations from our moodboard.

Tasting Notes

We created four flavors of our crafted canned beverages. There are alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available for all. 

Basil Collins
Refreshing and herbacious for uncertain explorers. Perfect for your conservative flavor drinker to take a chance to try something new. The mix of ingredients makes for a mildly spicy take on a classic.

Salted Plum Sour
Only satisfies the most interesting of taste buds. The zing from the salted plum makes jaw clench in delight and acidic lemon only brightens the whole experience. We recommend you try before you buy. 

Hibiscus Swing
Embraces adventure seekers and curious drinkers. Enjoy the taste of fruit-forward acidity that is balanced out by the hibiscus’s herbal tartness. Experience a surprising, yet balanced kickback of juicy spiced cinnamon that lingers on your tongue.

Tamarind Mule 
Delights lovers of contradiction with its sweet and sour tang. One moment it is sweet and next it is bursting with tang. 

Size Matters

Being concerned with the environment we packaged our drinks in slim 12oz cans. This is because studies show that more people recycle cans than glass. They are also easier to hold in variously sized hands and that size in particular provided the perfect ratio of liquor or liquid to flavor that we wanted. Lastly we discovered that slim cans are more readily packable than their stouter counterpart and slip into easy to access places. Our choices all coalesce into a cohesive brand that has a strong stake in the current market.

Alcoholic beverages are in black cans and non-Alcoholic beverages are in colored cans:

Instant Karma photo shoot Lauren and I art directed, shot, and styled. 

Animated logo I created in After Effects:

#chooseyourownadventure

Having successfully crafted balanced drinks with flavors that enable people to choose their own adventure we needed a plan to market them. Choose your own adventure fit well with our story. We were inspired by far away adventures, interesting ingredients, and the places our slim cans can go. That is why Choose Your Own Adventure is on the copy of our can and is our main hashtag used in social media. We market by keeping our tone inclusive. This mainly involves encouraging our drinkers to take snapshots of the places they have had fun sipping on Instant Karma. These photos can be submitted and the ones picked will be used to advertise on our feed. Our intention is to let our campaign spread by word of mouth– letting trust naturally grow among our targeted audience. We also choose to sprinkle in a few stylized shots to keep the core branding intact and get people excited about reveals and new things happening. I styled and wrote the copy for the ads below:

With Instant Karma, anything can happen. Below is a still from an animated After Effects animation I built: 

Post Mortem

We made a pop-up bar at our portfolio show and it was a hit. We had a great time serving up the drinks and talking about our process. For inquries about pop-up bars or helping us get this product into the world—shoot us an e-mail! We'd love to hear from you.