Responses by Claudio Vecchio, creative partner, Midday
Background: A brand-creation project, we were tasked to deliver the brand strategy, identity, brand world vision and packaging design for hard seltzer brand High Water. The key objectives included raising the category bar on visual design, storytelling and taste cues.
Reasoning: The water’s edge—a place of emotional significance to many—was defined as the emotional home of the brand. The brand name High Water was inspired by the founder’s love of the water and the beauty of high tide.
Challenges: Hard seltzers are already big in the US and growing in the UK. To catch and ride this wave, we needed to create a brand that would blend premium aspirations with mainstream appeal, capture the magic of the water’s edge and promise plenty of fun. Since emotional connection was currently lacking in the marketplace, our first consideration was to create a strong brand story with a captivating manifesto, distinct brand values and a “contemporary lifestyle” tone of voice. Beauty, desirability and fun were key. Everything needed to be angled for audiences who want to enjoy a good time, without compromising health and wellbeing.
Visual influences: We were mostly influenced by a piece of music played for us during the briefing, which captured the atmosphere of the brand. We interpreted this music into a visual style that aligned with the water’s edge concept.
Time constraints: Time is always of the essence when creating a startup brand from scratch. There are often firm dates in the calendar in which to complete specific deliverables, be it a supermarket range review or a trade fair. These deadlines are often make or break for new-to-market brands.
Anything new: We have extensive experience working in the alcoholic beverages sector, but found that the hard seltzer category was very dissimilar. The category codes and visual cues are completely different to conventional drinks design.
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