Southpine Seltzer is the fizzy brainchild of Hip Hops Brewers, brewed at Brendale Brewery. Shaun, the brewery’s owner, came to SOHO with an idea to create a sub-brand that bottled up the fun and flavour of classic soft drinks. think raspberry lemonade, cream soda, and good ol’ sarsaparilla. Since this was a fresh concept, Shaun gave us total creative freedom, so I took that as an invitation to get a little wild with the branding and can design. He wanted the look to feel nostalgic and flavour-first, tapping into the warm fuzzy feelings these drinks bring.

I knew from the start I wanted to give a nod to the brand name by weaving in a pine forest scene, but the rest was wide open. My first idea was A cinema ticket-style label inspired by drive-in theatres. It was cute, but didn’t quite hit the mark. it needed more zing to match the bold, fun flavours.

Enter: the jukebox. This retro icon brought just the right energy, tying in music, movement and that feel-good vibe. I kept the overall design consistent across all cans, but gave each flavour its own 5 colour palette to amp up personality and shelf impact while keeping the range cohesive. The final design is a vibrant, nostaligic design wrapped around each can.