Theoretical Experiment of Craft Tonic

Please note that this project does not reflect the selected brand and this project was done and experimented with for educational purposes, therefore it is only experimental and hypothetical.

The Toni Glass Collection is a remarkable infusion of both tradition and new age tea drinks. They have the perfect blend of modern sophistication and style coupled with the true legacy of the leaf. All of their teas are the finest full leaf teas and have been hand selected to create an ensemble of flavour. Their gourmet teas are not only unique, but offer a truly impressive selection for the entire spectrum of palates. The Toni Glass range of bespoke drinks include ice teas, mixers and tonic water.

This brief required the creation and craft of three labels for tonic water. Each label makes use of a different printing technique: one using a traditional printing method, the second one using digital methods and the third one making use of mixed media techniques.

My idea for the labels was to explore with typography and add in a part from the brands logo.

For the traditional label, I was inspired to make use of the letter press to create the logo for Toni Glass. This allowed me to explore and create interesting textures with text and roller brushes by rolling ink onto the letters, it also provided me the opportunity to learn how to use the printing press.

Working at the press

After working on and experimenting with the printing press, the following are some of the prints that came out. I experimented with black ink as well as cyan to create a blue-green colour by making a lighter shade with white ink, and tried magenta as well. With the magenta ink, instead of using a roller brush to apply the ink, I dipped my fingers in the ink and patted the ink onto the letter blocks to create a more textured look and feel to the prints.

After rolling on the letters, with the left-over ink on the brushes, I tried to create a texture.

For the traditional label, I also sketched out and coloured in with ink, the illustration of the man that is within the logo.

Final Traditional Label

For the digital label, I wanted to keep the illustration of the man on the label and I tried as close as possible to mimic the typeface from the original logo in order to keep the brand recognisable to its audience. I also used a very textured typeface for the secondary wordings. I incorporated the illustration of the man drinking from a cup from the original logo in order to create the consistency within the brand.

Process of the digital label before the final

Final Digital Label

For the mixed media label, I kept the hand-rendered drawing of the man constant, as in the traditional label. I also implemented the textured type from the letter press for the logo. For the background, I included a crumbled paper for a textured-feel. For this label, I maintained the secondary typeface for the information as in the digital label.

Process of the mixed media label before the final