Responsible for the naming, branding, and packaging, Inhouse aimed to communicate Japanese elegance and sophistication for Tokyo Dry. The result? Lion Breweriesâ most successful new product launch to date. Oh, and heaps of awards, too â including the Graphics Purple Pin at the Best Awards.
Inhouse design director Toby Curnow describes the process. âBefore we were briefed, Lion had already done significant work with partner agencies TRA and DDB to identify the opportunity and the DDB creative team developed the ‘NZ meets Japan‘ concept. This created a fantastic platform to launch the design process.â
Steinlager Tokyo Dry campaign video from DDB.
Creative director Arch MacDonnell expands. âThey wanted something that would appeal to Millennials,â he says. âOne of the core ideas was the coming together of two worlds. Itâs some of the best parts of New Zealand with some of the best parts of Japan.â
Enter the âTokyo Dryâ name Inhouse came up with.
âWe needed to explain what the concept was in the name,â says MacDonnell. âEveryone has an image of Tokyo, and it (the product) is a dry, sessionable lager.â
Two Japanese design principles strongly influenced Inhouseâs design process: Kanso (į°Ąį´ , a simplicity or elimination of clutter, with things expressed in a plain, simple, natural manner that reminds us to think not in terms of decoration but in terms of clarity, a kind of clarity that may be achieved through omission or exclusion of the non-essential) and Shizen (čĒįļ, naturalness. An absence of pretense or artificiality, full creative intent unforced. This is a reminder that design is not an accident, even when we are trying to create a natural-feeling environment. It is not a raw nature as such but one with purpose and intention). Curnow says they were instrumental in creating the Tokyo Dry image. âWe wanted to create something that had simplicity and elegance.â
Strong red and silver colours help differentiate Tokyo Dryâs visual identity compared to other beers, as well as the move to a brown bottleâ something MacDonnell says itâs a bold move considering that consumers expectation for a high quality lager and particularly Steinlager is for green glass.
Curnow adds that red was used because it is strongly associated with Japan and was already a Steinlager colour. âWe also liked how silver had a slightly technological connotation, especially with Japanese brewing.â
MacDonnell says the biggest challenge was ânot making it feel like a pastiche of Japanese culture.â The gamble has certainly paid off, with Best Awards judges saying the design is âAn exemplary piece of work across various mediums from packaging to brand standards with a clear idea executed to the highest standard.â
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MacDonnell says conducting lots of testing helped make the difference, as did having a strong relationship with Lion Breweries as a client. âWe had a great relationship with the client,â he says. âThey were on board with everything we were doing. It really was a partnership. There was a tremendous amount of trust. Having a great client can lead you to a great result.â
Curnow expands on that. âBeer is a quite conservative market,â he says. âItâs a difficult category to innovate in.
âWeâve learnt quite a bit about research. Itâs good not to fear research and take it on as part of the process.â
Given Inhouseâs success, itâs a process other designers might do well to emulate.
This story originally appeared on Idealog.