First part - redesign of trademark and packaging series for Fresh juices of the Filikon Plovdiv company
A very common task in a brand studio is the redesign of the brand and packaging while maintaining a high percentage of recognizability. Customers have already reached a target group and want to keep it. The redesign aims to modernize and improve the design of the brand and packaging, thus expanding the target group without losing the results already achieved. For the past period of operation of the old packaging, new brands and packaging have appeared, compared to which this brand should look consistent and, if possible, surpass them at least for a certain period.A conversation on this topic was held between us and students from Southwestern University Blagoevgrad within the framework of our joint cooperation.
The company "Filikon" Plovdiv, producer and owner of the brand for natural juices "Fresh" approached the studio with such a task. The brand is represented at the national level, is sold in most large chains in Bulgaria and is exported to many countries, including the USA. In terms of taste, "Fresh" juices are not inferior to other nationally presented brands. Unlike the juices themselves, however, the packaging significantly lags behind the packaging of the brand's direct competitors - Queens, BBB and CAPPY.
The clients set a clearly defined task - to preserve a high percentage of recognizability of the packaging - at least 60%, and together with that - to refresh and modernize it. We were particularly drawn to the photo material used in the old packaging - low-quality flat images that do not look fresh and delicious.
The clients also set us an additional task - creating the FREX brand based on the FRESH brand, again with preservation of recognition. This new brand is for US distributors only.
The process began with an analysis of the brand's main competitors, as well as an analysis of the old FRESH packaging and development opportunities. The composition of the old packaging consists of several constant elements - a logo, a text field for the names and a group of falling or pouring down fruits. The fruits are placed on an arc-shaped element that looks like brushed paint with a color that changes for each SKU. The background is non-uniform, which is why the packaging does not have a clear color code.
The analysis was done through a series of drawings and sketches exploring the possibilities for logo transformation and packaging development. Working on paper cannot be ignored - it is fast and convenient and does not limit the designer's imagination.
The process continued with work on the new FREX logo. In addition to the addition of the letter "x", a number of structural corrections were made to the existing three letters. The thin contour in the old version of the logo creates too many gaps, which reduces the brand's recognizability on the packaging. This problem was solved by creating a compact pad under the letters that does not allow the packaging background to show through between them.
In the packaging, after a number of attempts to change the background, it was decided to keep the rainbow element under the fruit, replacing the brushed paint effect with a compact saturated color.
Falling or shedding fruits were arranged in a persistent vertical compositional group. This is a natural product that should be sold in family packaging. It should instill confidence in the quality, the values, the composition, and the randomly pouring fruits do not work in this direction.
The several redesign concepts thus developed were arranged in a presentation detailing the transformation and development of all elements. A lot of attention was paid in it to the additional refreshing of the photographs. In addition to the selection of higher quality and embossed images, they were further refreshed by "wetting" with additional added drops.
Thus, we can now realistically compare the old and new packaging and evaluate the achieved result. The new brand is much more vital and distinct, the photography is of better quality, the fruits do not look so chaotic and falling, they have a fresh and juicy appearance, they look voluminous and full, together with the leaves around them give the impression of a fragment of a tree, and the whole group together with the hat above her and the drops on the objects give the impression of a humid tropical forest. The white element on the left side of the packaging is preserved, but it no longer creates the impression of emptiness in the vision. The name is located on a stable and harmonious element in the middle of the package, graded visually immediately after the logo. The packaging is designed to create a quality block design on the shelf.
After this important stage of the redesign process, we continued to create the individual SKUs throughout the line. Some of the photographs were bought from Stock-sites by acquiring the respective copyrights, others, especially the cuts and fragments, were photographed by us. All objects were "wetted" by placing drops on them. For this purpose, we drew a large group of drops of different shapes, through which the fruits and leaves would be "drenched" with water. To make this pouring convincing, drops were drawn with different states and characteristics - drops standing on a flat surface for the horizontal parts, flowing down for the vertical surfaces and "hanging" for their low parts. In this way, a total of 19 different SKUs were created.
After the printing of the first editions, the customers decided to change the design of the boxes for Bulgaria as well, using the FRESH logo here without changes.
After the redesign, the FRESH brand looks competitive with the main brands on the shelf with its acquired emphasized identity.
