Aava, a natural mineral water brand, required a glass bottle packaging design for two product verticals: Aava Still and Aava Sparkling. The objective was to rebrand the offerings to give them a luxurious image, with design solutions that would look comfortable at high-end restaurants, without compromising on the functional requirements of the container.
This project was the submission by a group of two for the Aava Glass Bottle Design Competition, open to students of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Gandhinagar, held in March 2018, and won 2nd place with a cash prize of Rs 70,000.
(With Akshay Khurana.)
Analysis
Aava is known for its pure, natural mineral water tag. However, it is not seen often today on the shelves of the supermarket. Its primary competitors in India are Qua, Himalayan and Vedika, all three of which have vivid brand recall.
Currently, Aava’s visual identity and brand language look outdated when it sits next to its competitors in a highly aggressive market.
We proposed a complete brand revamp for Aava. A refreshing new start for a trusted Indian brand. We looked to international brands such as Perrier and Evian, who have both plastic and glass bottle offerings, as the brand equivalent that Aava aspires to be in India. Their identities are clean, reflecting the nature of their product.
Inspiration
Aava realises how precious water is, as a life sustaining resource. Being one of the only providers of bottled natural mineral water in India, Aava is a unique offering in the market. Our main aim for this rebrand was to express value in every aspect of the product.
Our primary source of inspiration came from the most basic form of water, the drop. This element was then used to express the dynamism of the source of some of the purest water nature has to offer, the Aravalli Hills. Water is at the heart of all. It rejuvenates, it calms, and quenches a thirst like nothing else can.
Keeping this in mind, our graphics and packaging form have water at the core. Water as the refresher, the source of life, the mighty river, the calm ocean.
Identity
The new visual identity uses the form of the drop itself as its font, to convey the powerful name Aava.
The primary brand colour shifts towards a more pleasant blue-green, while retaining the intensity of colour from its previous form. This ensures that there is some link with the old brand.
The logotype is distinct and contemporary, bringing the brand to the future. The trademark drop shape becomes the visual hook of Aava, and is used for all graphic design requirements.
The unit creates the logos for the two product verticals: still and sparkling. The blue-green denotes still and white denotes sparkling.
Dynamic Tessellation
To take the visual language one step further, we wanted to create a pattern that would distinguish Aava on a shelf and at your table. This led us to exaggerating the Aava drop form through a series of tessellation experiments.
We finally landed on the pattern that spoke loudest of the power of water, and the hills from which Aava water comes. The pattern reflects the vibrancy of the hills, but does not remain still, it ebbs and flows as your eyes move across.
This pattern can be used across print and digital media to market the new Aava and tell its story. The pattern will distinguish it from its competitors on the shelf, and have great brand recall. Your audience is hooked.
Bottle
The glass bottle packaging of Aava is what truly makes it a special offering in the Indian market, where most bottles are plastic. This gives it an edge over the rest of the brands.
We pushed this image to its premium limit. We took inspiration from international brands to give Aava a unique bottle form that echoed the water drop.
Two bottles were constructed for the capacities of 750 ml and 300 ml. The construction was done such that they look like a family. By creating an algorithm on the 3D modelling software Rhinoceros, we could control the height, diametre, and weight specifications, which enabled us to render near perfect forms that hold just the right amount of liquid.
Crystal clear.
Packaging
Aava’s new logo and glass bottle come together to form the brand’s new packaging, each with a distinct colour variant. The Aava pattern is used directly on the bottle, in a gradient that disappears into the glass.
The screen printing technique may be used to achieve the gradient pattern on the bottle. It is a cost effective and efficient method of printing, particularly because a single, coloured ink is used across the pattern.
Brand Recall
An important consideration that was made during the process of designing the new Aava bottle was that the customer should want to take it home and keep it.
The new packaging is not just for the eco-friendly, but also for the design conscious. Once in the consumer’s home, the labels can be easily removed, and the high quality glass bottles can store anything, making it their special possession. But, the Aava pattern is always there, reminding them of the lovely water it came with.
