For this project, I was supposed to create a product and brand for a bottled beverage. I wanted to make something in an aesthetic I adored, so I developed Melomead, a mead brand with unique flavors. My goal for this project was to design something pretty and ornate to add to my portfolio.
Research & Discovery
Mead is an ancient alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water, with variations that can include fruits, spices, herbs, or grains. It can be still or carbonated, and range from dry to sweet, with different styles like melomel (fruit mead) and metheglin (spiced mead). The taste and quality vary significantly based on the ingredients and production process.
Creative Brief
My primary goal for this project was to create a label that reflects an ornate and fantasy style. This was my first time designing a beverage label, and I wanted to take the opportunity to do something fun. I wanted to create something illustrative and detail-heavy in order to practice this kind of design skill set.
Mood Board
For my moodboard, I wanted to fully immerse myself in a Renaissance-inspired aesthetic, drawing heavily from the rich visual language of that era. I focused on elements such as classical paintings, warm golden tones, and the intricate, ornate trimmings often seen in period architecture and fashion. My goal was to create something visually lush and elaborate, an atmosphere that feels both refined and romantic. I wanted the overall mood to carry a soft, dreamy quality, evoking a sense of timeless beauty and artistic elegance.
Concept Development
For my sketches, I took heavy inspiration from old orante mirrors, picture frames, and painting frames, helping me come up with great ideas with a solid structure. I loved the super detailed ones, like 2, 5, and 20. I enjoyed a lot of the intricately shaped ones as well, but in the end leaned more towards a solid outside shape.
Digital Drafts
Since this was my first time atempting something so detailed in Illustrator, I actually found myself struggling quite a bit to transfer it from sketch to digital draft. I was losing a lot of details, and because of time constraints, I ended up choosing the far left option due to the bolded lines being more appealing to my eye.
Reworking It
After finishing this project the first time, I was not necessarily happy with the result. Don't get me wrong, I did like it, I just thought I could do better. I hated that I lost a lot of details and missed the illustrative look I originally planned for, so I decided to redesign it from the sketching step. My goal was to try to get my final result to retain much more detail than the last and lean more into a fantasy look rather than a modern one.
New Sketches
My new sketches were some of my favorite rough illustrations to do. I adored how detailed they were, and the hand-drawn brand name and flavor illustration made everything feel much more united, unlike my last design.
After some discussion, I decided to sketch an idea that added a few of the elements from the bottom left design to the top right, leading me to my final concept.
New Digital Drafts
I feel like the sketch-to-digital process was much more successful this time, and I was actually able to retain a good bit of detailing as well as an illustrative look.
Final Designs
Mockups
Reflection
In the end, I felt like reworking the project was the right decision. I think the second time around, I was much more successful in fulfilling my original goals. During this project, I learned a lot about basic label design and evolved my Illustrator skills a ton, and I can confidently say I've gained experience that will help me in future projects. I definitely hit a good bit of roadblocks during this experience, but in the end, I feel happy with the outcome.