Oct 8

Oct 8 Boo's Broo

BRANDING, COPYWRITER & DESIGNER

When the artisan behind your swigs of cold brew is as strange and wonderful as this, it only makes sense for her bottle labels to carry the same level of whimsy.

Client: Boo’s Broo

THE STORY

This started out as a gift of thanksgiving for a dear friend who has been a personal supplier of great swigs and good vibes.

Cold brew coffee is an art Boo has been perfecting on the side, one that has enchanted our little circle of friends—no gathering was complete without Boo’s famous brew!

To capture the whimsical enigma that is Boo, these were non-negotiables:

classic Boo expression;
Wicked the musical;
all things witchy since her last name in Chinese (巫) means witch; and
her favorite tuxedo pet cat.

(You can see where this is going.)

STEP 1: CAPTURE CLASSIC BOO EXPRESSION

This was a fun photoshoot in a random, well-lit storeroom in Boo’s office (shh). The process was rather simple – get her to break out laughing / break out weird. We got a good selection of photos in less than 5 minutes!

**STEP 2: FIND ORIGINAL WICKED PLAYBILL**

If you ask Boo, she’d probably tell you that she is Elphaba. That’s how much she lives and breathes Wicked. Therefore, to capture her essence in a bottle requires the original Wicked playbill, which thankfully isn’t too hard to find (thanks, Internet!)

STEP 3: CREATE WITCHY CUT-OUTS & LIKENESS OF TUX

Time to desecrate the playbill! (Disclaimer: No disclaimer to the Wicked musical!)

I tried my best to keep the design sketch-y and unpolished, since Boo’s also a huge fan of imperfection. (:

STEP 4: COPYWRITING MAGIC

This is the part where I wave my magic wand and the words get pulled out of my brain:

Drip by drip, jug by jug, BOO’S BROO is concocted in one short day (about 4–8 hours) in a tiny green city. Boo only uses beans she unadulteratedly loves for her brews, so you can be sure every mouthful is wickedly good. Drink as-is, on ice, or mix 2 parts milk with 1 part cold brew. Or make your own affogato! With so many ways to savour, thank goodness no good drop goes unfinished.
*Disclaimer: No chanting, no magic spells—only gravity-defying goodness within.

STEP 5: PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

I wanted to create a label that could be purposed for all of Boo’s different brews. This meant the label has to be able to be easily customised by her to reflect each concoction’s unique origins, tasting notes, best-by date, and whether it was a white / black cold brew.

In-keeping with the sketch-y style, I thought it would be a neat personal touch for her handwriting to appear on each and every label to reflect the bottle’s contents. Plus, it’s always fun to circle with a marker!

STEP 6: PROTOTYPE!

Interestingly, I found these medicinal bottles at home that are the exact size of the bottles that Boo intended to use for her brews! I tested the label in two tones – sepia and monotone. In the end we went with the sepia-toned option!

(I also returned to Photoshop to add more contrasts and shadows.)