Squeezy

Summary:

Squeezy started with a simple question:

Can a beverage brand be playful without feeling disposable?

The goal was to create a fruit-forward identity that felt energetic and approachable, while still carrying enough clarity and credibility to compete in a real retail environment.

The visual system was built around vibrant, fruit-inspired colours, friendly typography and playful vector illustrations. Each SKU had its own personality, but the underlying design language kept the range connected.

From there, the identity expanded beyond the can.

Fruit-inspired icons became part of the digital experience. Curved graphics translated into UI elements. The colour system carried into branded merchandise. And the packaging language became the foundation for a custom e-commerce experience.

The project became less about designing a beverage brand and more about testing how far a visual identity can stretch without losing recognition.

The result was a brand system built around three ideas:

joy + clarity + usability

A system that could feel expressive on a supermarket shelf, tactile on merchandise and intuitive on a mobile screen.

Challenge:

How do you make “fun” feel credible?

The biggest challenge with Squeezy was balance.

The brand needed to feel:

juicy + playful + energetic

but never:

childish + gimmicky + disposable

Fruit-based beverage brands can easily lean heavily into bright colours, cartoon-like graphics and playful language. While those elements can create instant shelf appeal, pushing them too far can make the product feel less premium or trustworthy.

Pull back too much, though, and the personality disappears.

So the challenge wasn't simply creating something colourful.

It was creating a visual personality with restraint behind it.

There was another layer to the project.

Squeezy was self-initiated, which meant there was no client brief defining the audience, scope or creative boundaries.

That freedom also meant I had to create my own constraints.

I had to think beyond:

Does this look good?

and ask:

• Would this work across a real product range?

• Can a new flavour enter the system without breaking it?

• Will the identity still work outside packaging?

• Can the same personality translate into an e-commerce experience?

The real test became:

Could Squeezy stand out on a supermarket shelf and still feel completely natural online?

Solution:

Building a playful system with structure underneath.

I approached Squeezy by defining three visual pillars before developing individual applications.

These became the guardrails for the entire identity.

1 - Use colour to communicate flavour instantly

Colour became one of the primary navigation tools across the range.

Each SKU could own a distinctive, fruit-inspired colour combination, allowing shoppers to differentiate flavours quickly while still recognising the broader Squeezy family.

The colours needed to do more than look vibrant.

They needed to communicate:

flavour + freshness + energy

The result was a range that could feel varied without becoming visually fragmented.

Seen together, the cans formed a recognisable block of colour.

Seen individually, each SKU had enough personality to stand on its own.

2 - Make illustration the personality layer

I developed playful vector illustrations and fruit-inspired icons to give the brand its character.

The illustrations were intentionally graphic rather than overly detailed, allowing them to scale across different applications.

• On packaging, they could become large visual moments.

• On digital platforms, they could become UI icons.

• On merchandise, they could function independently as recognisable brand assets.

This created a useful distinction:

the illustration brings the fun; the system brings the credibility.

3 - Create typography that could work everywhere

Typography needed to bridge two very different environments:

physical packaging + digital interfaces

The type system was therefore kept crisp, legible and flexible.

On the cans, typography could support the expressive colour and graphics without competing with them.

On the website, the same system could establish clear navigation, product information and calls to action.

This allowed Squeezy to maintain its personality without sacrificing usability.

4 - Build movement into the packaging

The packaging architecture was designed around curved layouts and layered graphic elements.

Rather than placing graphics statically on the can, the compositions created a sense of movement reinforcing the ideas of freshness, energy and juice.

The curves also became a recurring visual device that could be carried into other applications.

This gave the identity another recognisable asset beyond colour and illustration.

5 - Extend the system into digital

The next test was taking the visual language off the shelf.

The fruit illustrations became icon sets.

• Colours became UI accents.

• The curved graphic language became part of the interface.

The goal wasn't to simply recreate the packaging online.

It was to translate the same design logic into a different medium.

That meant keeping the expressive moments while introducing stronger grids, spacing and hierarchy where usability required it.

6 - Design an e-commerce experience around the brand

The e-commerce concept became an opportunity to explore how branding and UX could work together.

The key question was:

How can the website feel as joyful as the packaging without becoming difficult to use?

I approached the interface with a clean grid system that mirrored the rhythm of the packaging.

• Expressive graphics created moments of energy.

• Clear hierarchy handled the functional information.

• Simple navigation and structured product presentation kept the experience intuitive.

This created the same balance as the physical packaging:

personality + usability.

7 - Test the identity beyond the product

The system was also explored through lifestyle applications such as branded tote bags and merchandise.

These applications acted as another stress test.

If the identity could work without the can, product photography or flavour information, the visual language had enough equity to stand on its own.

The colour palette and illustration system provided that flexibility.

WHY THIS SYSTEM WORKS

Rather than treating packaging, digital and merchandise as separate design exercises, Squeezy was built around one shared visual language.

1. Can shoppers differentiate products quickly?

Yes - colour becomes an immediate navigation tool across SKUs.

2. Does the brand feel playful without looking childish?

Yes - expressive illustration and colour are balanced by structured typography and layout.

3. Can the identity scale?

Yes - the core elements can be resized, rearranged and repurposed without losing recognition.

4. Does the brand work beyond packaging?

Yes - the same visual language extends into icons, merchandise and digital interfaces.

5. Can personality coexist with usability?

Yes - the e-commerce experience demonstrates how expressive branding can sit within a clear and functional UX system.

The result was more than a colourful beverage concept.

Squeezy became a sandbox for exploring how a brand can move between physical and digital environments without losing its personality.

The project also reinforced something I find increasingly important in identity design:

Playfulness works best when there is structure underneath it.

• The colour can be loud.

• The illustrations can be expressive.

• The packaging can have energy.

But when the underlying system is clear, the brand doesn't become chaotic.

It becomes recognisable, flexible and ready to grow.