Design Activity's botanical-infused identity for organic drinks brand, Still Wild

The brainchild of food and drink enthusiast James Harrison-Allen, Still Wild produces cold-distilled spirits using hand-foraged natural botanicals from Pembrokeshire. It's been a life-long dream for the former chef to create his own liqueurs and spirits. And that dream became a reality when he launched his own distillery in 2019 and started producing two signature products: a sweet Rosso and an extra dry Vermouth. He approached Design Activity to help with the branding.

"When starting an adventure, it's difficult to navigate all the priorities, but it was clear that a great pack design would be absolutely crucial for my brand," says James. "Still Wild is all about the ingredients and I wanted to be able to communicate the 'wild' and 'organic' nature of the product, not just in the design of the packaging but also in the materials used."

Mark Stubbington, design director at Design Activity, says: "When we first met James, we could see he had a true passion for his products – they had been expertly crafted over many years, so it was important that the packaging not only represented the product he had created but the story behind it too. James wanted his brand to be a combination of natural meets modern and minimal, so we fused clean modern lines with natural colours, shapes and imagery to create Still Wild's signature design."

The resulting elegant bottle is sprayed bespoke 'Still Wild' green, while the label – made from natural paper stock as a nod to Still Wild's organic roots – is hexagon-shaped, creating an ownable and instantly recognisable style. This was then hand applied over a beautiful screen-printed illustration of the botanicals used in each vermouth.

Mark adds: "We worked very closely and collaboratively with James through the whole journey, embracing his vision and expert knowledge of his products to help guide him through not only the design process but helping with sourcing, production and logistics too – everything needed to bring Still Wild to market."

"I hadn't appreciated the scale and complexity of all things needed to bring a brand to market," says James. "But with Design Activity's hands-on involvement every single step of the way, it has enabled me to create something special in Still Wild, which I am confident will be a great success."

Isn't this why we get into design in the first place? Discover more of Design Activity's latest work at www.designactivity.co.uk.