Recently, we had an opportunity to work with Silk on a project that brought together a perfect mix of elements for us: a great client with Design Manager David McCanless heading the project; an exciting assignment to create new packaging for Nutchello, a nut-based beverage; and a challenging set-up that required us to invent a novel solution.

 

This is how David explained the concept:

 

“Nutchello was a unique challenge for Silk. We needed our consumer to step outside of the half gallon milk reference they were used to and see this as a separate and specific beverage occasion. We went through multiple rounds of qualitative research to help us identify the right visual communication and ultimately the metaphor that consistently spoke to beverage was ice. We took that learning and looked at it through our overarching design of ‘packaging as product.’ This packaging design system communicates our commitment to food transparency and the goodness of plants by becoming the ‘product’ vs merely utilizing the packaging form as a stage to showcase our product. “

 

The finished carton would show beautiful liquid, lots of transparent ice and a fun colored straw poking out of the beverage. Making that happen became an exciting project at the studio requiring Noel and the team to pull out all the stops.

 

First, we built a customized tank to hold the liquid and ice, while allowing close range photography using natural light. We always like to use real ice at our studio and it gave the shoot a real "time is of the essence" feel as food stylist, art director and photographer all rushed to get the ice just right for each shot. We’re also big fans of trying to capture it “all in camera” so that very little compositing work is needed for the liquid, straw and ice to be in the same image.

 

Our efforts paid off, and the finished packaging lived up to Dave’s creative vision. In his words, “One of the biggest challenges in my mind as I flew out to meet you guys was lighting and realism. It was extremely important that the product and the ice look as realistic, natural and delicious as possible. I was delighted to be greeted with Noel's simple, back to the basics approach. Your studio is ideal for this type of shoot, with the large frosted windows and plenty of sunshine. I was also extremely impressed by the entire team’s adaptability and how you all overcame challenges and problems with an endless supply of energy and curiosity.”

 

Thanks, David. This was an exciting project for all of us.