Package Design - June/July 2014 - 80

field

NOTES

Southern Charm

the verdict

the brand

Handcrafted look celebrates American
moonshine traditions.
Inspired by amazing family moonshine stories
and recipes shared by friends who grew up in the
Appalachian Mountains, Pat Dillingham and
Sean Koffel debut American Born Moonshine.
The brand has a carefully considered yet
handcrafted look, which starts with a custom
molded mason jar with American Born heavily
embossed across the shoulder. The closure is also
custom, with a tee-top cork pour spout inserted
into its center.
Does the brand attract attention on shelf or is
the down-home look off mark? Our readers
weigh in.

 The custom jar and lid have terrific
shelf appeal and captures the historical
spirit behind the product line-and does
so with a bit of whimsy, which is fun. I
like the healthy tension between a
premium product and very "low end"
form factor (albeit elevated in
execution). However, as with all
premium packaging the quality of
materials will be key to delivering an
exceptional customer experience. I
suppose I'll have to pick up a jar to see
for myself!
Kevin Marshall

Creative director of design, global packaging at
Microsoft

 With the custom cap and the
embossed branding, the overall package
form feels very distinctive and premium
yet still true to the southern roots of the
product. The bold, masculine brand

identity feels rugged and authentic, with
the torn paper, the numbered seal,
muted color palette and the slanted
placement of the messaging.
Differentiation in typography or
additional icons or imagery
could call out the flavors in a
more distinctive way and also
make the brand name more
prominent and recognizable on
shelf.
Jennifer Jones

Partner and director of design, Sterling-Rice Group

 There is a lot to take in and enjoy
about this packaging design. The
collectable, value-added-and thus
sustainable-custom mason jar is the
ideal vehicle for the product. The
typographic choices and hierarchy hit
the mark. The antiqued, handmade and
irregularly cut label add to the brand's

down home communication. The idea
of homemade authenticity can be
further supported by twisting the label
on the jar so that they are less than
perfectly applied.
The challenge for this brand is that
the name American Born could be
construed as a tag line and with its lack
of uniquely ownable characteristics; the
consumer may understand this to be a
generic statement rather than the brand
name. The XXX don't add value to the
name communication. Perhaps setting it
apart in a different color or adding an
ownable feature may be the answer.
Think beyond the pack and consider
how the brand identity would be unique
in the social media marketplace as well.
Marianne Rosner Klimchuk

Professor, packaging design department at the
Fashion Institute of Technology, a State University of
New York college

WANT TO HAVE YOUR PACKAGE DESIGN HIGHLIGHTED in this column or comment on future, spotlighted package designs?
Contact Linda Casey at linda.casey@stmediagroup.com and type "Field Notes" in the email subject line.

JUNE/JULY 2014

Package Design - June/July 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Package Design - June/July 2014