Message in a Bottle
Project Brief
Design a series of beverage containers within a chosen theme of three’s - examples are Three Blind Mice, Three Stooges, Three Wise Monkeys. (Choose from the list enclosed). The beverage could be beer, non-alcohol cocktail, coffee, juice, or water — could be glass, carton, plastic bottles or cans.
Objectives
- To communicate the essence of a product with a given theme.
- To develop a design concept as a series with separate but equal components.
- To design and communicate a concept in a 3-dimensional format.
- Understand concepts in cultural and thematic purposes for a specific target.
- Understand impact of form and practicality along with eye catching graphics.
Specifications
- Ficticious name and location of company based on theme.
- Provide enough product information that follows labeling requirements.
- Form and stylization is open for interpretation to theme.
- Design must work as a individual containers and as a series of three.
- Must design full container components: front, back, sides, color of glass or beverage, neck, cork/cap/top, shape of container.
What theme should I choose?
After great deliberation I settled on "The 3 Ships of Christopher Columbus". And thus began the research.
Bio at a Glance
- Name: Christopher Columbus (Christophorus Columbus or Cristoforo Colombo).
- Born: Liguria, Italy in 1451 (died 1506).
- Sailed for: Queen Isabella I & King Ferdinand II.
- Trip to America: Aug-12 Oct, 1492.
- Landed at: Guanahani, Cuba, Hispaniola (ie. Haiti).
Process Pics
Here is the final concept realized below. (See Figure 1.1) And also a few style shots (see slideshow).
Image #1
Conclusion/Reflection
It was my intent to capture the feeling of both the time period (1492) and highlight Columbus’ ships (La Niña, La Pinta, and the Santa Maria) in a somewhat interactive manner versus simply as images on a label. What I developed were tall rectangular glass bottles enveloped by clear labels with a fairly minimal printed surface area. By doing so, when I placed the ship illustrations on the reverse of the bottles they appear almost as “ships in a bottle” while viewed from the front.
Since this brand was focused on the Middle Ages, and more specifically sea-faring exploration of the Middle Ages, I chose to use 750ml clear rectangular bottles. These bottles reflect the stylization of many alcoholic beverages as well as pay homage to the notion of the world being flat (i.e. “four corners”) which was of paramount concern for Columbus’ crew as he set forth on this journey to prove the earth was round. .