Design Case Study | SingleDouble’s design for Chemistry Gin
Born from a love of science and nature, Chemistry Gin explores botanicals at a molecular level to bring out the best of each flavour for a perfectly balanced New Zealand gin. Setting out to explore the unexpected, a fresh take on craft spirits that blurs the line between pragmatic science and the pure joy of a well-mixed drink. Therefore, finding unforeseen links between science, nature, and experimentation were essential elements in our design process.
Tell us a bit about the brand – its heritage, its story, and its markets – and the brief for this project. How does the design express the brand’s values? What inspired the design?
Conscious of avoiding any obvious chemistry lab clichés, we worked to a theme of enhancing and elevating the creative, slightly wonderous side of science. We wanted to devise a highly engaging look with a dash of intrigue, linking chemistry to relationships between people and nature.
Inspired by the idea that positive energy, attracts positive energy, we created colourful abstract 3D orbs to illustrate brand ethos and evoke those wonderful moments when we become mesmerized by the magnetic people and things around us.
The orbs capture this organic interconnectedness, the shapes and colours morphing and blending into each other like polished stones or floating bubbles.
Chemistry is a Wellington-based gin brand taking chemistry beyond literal science to the deep human connections that enhance our lives. Created by a biochemist and her wife and proudly supporting women in science, Chemistry Gin is not just about gin. As a woman-owned start-up, Karori Drinks Company is also about giving other women a hand up. Marie and Laura are committed to investing in the next generation of women by donating $2 from every bottle of Chemistry Gin sold, to strengthen women in STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
What is innovative or unusual about the pack?
MCC Labels Auckland was brilliant to work with, trialling different stocks and print setups to enable us to get the really intense colours and contrasting surfaces that make the label so striking.
In line with Karori Drinks Company’s ethos of “treading lightly on the planet” Chemistry Gin is made from sustainably-sourced botanicals and uses the Estal “Pharma” bottle which is made from 100% post-consumer glass. The bottle requires up to 35% less energy inputs to make it, therefore it’s better for the planet than regular glass. Each beautiful bottle is completely unique with slight imperfections which add to its handcrafted feel.
Gin style: A modern London Dry with Sichuan (Szechuan) peppercorns, sage and seaweed, Chemistry Gin is single-shot distilled in small batches.
The end result is a product with a confident, light-hearted feel that embraces experimentation and is designed to surprise people and draw them in with the use of organic, abstract forms. An aesthetic and approach designed to help a new brand stand out and thrive in the crowded craft gin category.
What technical challenges did you need to overcome to manufacture this pack?
We always knew we wanted to make the orbs feel dimensional and explored specialist foils like Kurz SFX, but with a set-up cost of approximately $20,000 NZD, this was well beyond the budget of a start-up.
From there we looked for illustrators that could help us create the orbs with a sense of lightness, floating & fluidity. Although it probably looks relatively simple now, being able to achieve the multiple colour blends and forms was actually quite tricky. In the end, we worked with the Illustrator Room and Igor Morski.
Overprinting on silver foil and adding a high-build element to each orb lends a sense of subtle appeal and a tactile finish.
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Photo from www.canmaker.com
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