Ben Shaws

THE BRIEF (DESIGN EXCERCISE)

Ben Shaws is a soft drink manufacturer, originally based in Huddersfield. I feel the current official branding misses the rich history of this brand. Confusing clip art style images seem to suggest America – but don’t seem to hit the mark. I wanted to revisit this well-loved brand and see if I could draw upon Ben Shaws’ historic references – without the clichéd nostalgia cues. I also wanted to position the brand away from the budget end of the market – and deliver something that wouldn’t look out of place next to a premium mixer.

THE SOLUTION

There are some brands that take you back to your childhood, and if you live in the north of England Ben Shaws is certainly one. In a marketplace dominated by the big brands, Ben Shaws was my local brand – and local people still feel a sense of ownership and nostagia with Ben Shaws.

In the 1960s and 70s Ben Shaws used a very distinctive Diamond motif – instantly recognisable to many. Indeed look hard enough and you can still see remnants of signage in many northern towns.

I like the existing Ben Shaws scripted wordmark – and I think the contrast between the graphic Diamonds works well. The logo also harks back to the very long history of this brand (est 1871), where reworked Diamond pattern signals a later time – but now with a modern twist. The San Serif font used for the drink flavour also reflects the 1970s Ben Shaws logo which used a similar square serif font

It’s always interesting to look backwards to push a brand forwards – hopefully this exercise has achieved this. For the record their Yellow Lemonade was the best flavour – or is it Dandelion and Burdock…