INNOCENT DRINKS
Unifying a growing portfolio through a flexible design system
Evolving innocent's brand through a consistent design system that unified touchpoints and elevated the “dude” as its symbol of goodness.
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Evolving innocent's brand through a consistent design system that unified touchpoints and elevated the “dude” as its symbol of goodness.
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+ Brand Development
+ Brand & Packaging Guidelines
+ Art Direction
+ Illustration
+ Packaging
+ Creative Artwork
+ Brand & Packaging Guidelines
+ Art Direction
+ Illustration
+ Packaging
+ Creative Artwork
Role: Senior Designer (Freelance)
Agency: innocent drinks - creative hub in collaboration with Derek&Eric
CD: Finlay Hogg
Agency: innocent drinks - creative hub in collaboration with Derek&Eric
CD: Finlay Hogg
CHALLENGE
Rebuilding shelf presence and brand clarity through design.
Rebuilding shelf presence and brand clarity through design.
innocent, a fruit drink brand since 1999, had grown into a diverse portfolio, but its confident visual identity was being diluted across an increasing number of products. In a competitive, fast-moving category, design needed to unify the portfolio, sharpen shelf presence, and keep the iconic "dude" instantly recognisable.
The core problems to solve:
The core problems to solve:
- Reuniting a fragmented visual identity without losing the brand's playful, approachable personality
- Building consistency across packaging, layout, and hierarchy to lift shelf impact
- Creating a system that could scale across future launches and portfolio growth
- Keeping the "dude" front and centre as the brand's key symbol
- Bringing fresh thinking to a brand with deep equity, for longtime fans and newcomers alike
MY ROLE
I led design across innocent's key ranges and the detailed system work that brought them together, part of a wider portfolio redesign in collaboration with Derek&Eric:
I led design across innocent's key ranges and the detailed system work that brought them together, part of a wider portfolio redesign in collaboration with Derek&Eric:
- Led conceptual illustration and packaging design across multiple ranges, holding each to the strategic brand framework
- Built and refined the layout, hierarchy, typography, and colour systems that delivered cohesive, high-volume, multi-SKU artwork for the UK and EU
- Worked directly with in-house design, senior stakeholders, and external suppliers to validate creative direction and meet technical requirements
- Held brand consistency across the portfolio while keeping the system scalable for future products
(Final illustration artwork by Laura Silveira, developed from my initial concepts.)
PROCESS
The real test was whether one visual language could stretch across ranges with very different jobs to do. Each one pulled the system in a different direction.
Super smoothies. A premium, appetite-led range where precision mattered most. I designed the pack layouts end to end, finalising background gradients to exact CMYK values and composing fruit imagery to reflect accurate ratios, so the product read as authentic and premium on shelf.
Core smoothies. The portfolio's most recognised range. The work here was flexing the "dude" across SKUs without losing him: variations tuned to each pack, a clear hierarchy for instant readability, and consistent fruit composition that held the range together.
Shots. A newer, more functional proposition that needed its own voice inside the system. I designed the full range layouts and introduced a new iconography system to carry functional storytelling, using illustrative elements to communicate the product story while keeping it unmistakably innocent.
Across all three, the strategic thread was the same: keep the core equity (the dude, the tone, the warmth) while unifying hierarchy, typography, colour, and illustration into one flexible system that could scale.
The real test was whether one visual language could stretch across ranges with very different jobs to do. Each one pulled the system in a different direction.
Super smoothies. A premium, appetite-led range where precision mattered most. I designed the pack layouts end to end, finalising background gradients to exact CMYK values and composing fruit imagery to reflect accurate ratios, so the product read as authentic and premium on shelf.
Core smoothies. The portfolio's most recognised range. The work here was flexing the "dude" across SKUs without losing him: variations tuned to each pack, a clear hierarchy for instant readability, and consistent fruit composition that held the range together.
Shots. A newer, more functional proposition that needed its own voice inside the system. I designed the full range layouts and introduced a new iconography system to carry functional storytelling, using illustrative elements to communicate the product story while keeping it unmistakably innocent.
Across all three, the strategic thread was the same: keep the core equity (the dude, the tone, the warmth) while unifying hierarchy, typography, colour, and illustration into one flexible system that could scale.
OUTCOME
The redesign put the "dude" front and centre, refining his form and pairing him with a softened wordmark. Streamlined typography, colour, and illustration created a flexible, cohesive system that strengthened differentiation across ranges while keeping the brand unmistakably innocent.
As part of a portfolio-wide refresh spanning 600+ pieces of packaging artwork, the work delivered measurable results: 94% of people say the packs feel like a cohesive range, premium perception rose by premium perception rose 9 points, from 22% to 31%, purchase intent increased to 86%, and findability across key SKUs improved by 6%.
The redesign put the "dude" front and centre, refining his form and pairing him with a softened wordmark. Streamlined typography, colour, and illustration created a flexible, cohesive system that strengthened differentiation across ranges while keeping the brand unmistakably innocent.
As part of a portfolio-wide refresh spanning 600+ pieces of packaging artwork, the work delivered measurable results: 94% of people say the packs feel like a cohesive range, premium perception rose by premium perception rose 9 points, from 22% to 31%, purchase intent increased to 86%, and findability across key SKUs improved by 6%.