THE CLIENT
A family run business with a rich heritage, Johnson’s Veterinary Products has been providing products for pets for over 100 years. They offer a wide range of products for pets of all species, with new products occasionally being added to their offering.
THE PROJECT
Johnson’s had produced a new line of three paw balms for dogs, cats and small animals. We were asked to design the labels to go on the tins and an accompanying tray to display them in. The company had recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, so they wanted to capitalise on this and reference some of their early products with a retro design.
Once the balms were launched, we then needed to help Johnson’s to promote the balms via social media and press coverage.
THE WORK
Our first step was to research into Johnson’s early product designs. They had several samples, which we photographed. From these, we identified the graphical elements used across the range that could be brought into the balm designs. Notably, these included the banded structure (sepia top, black bar in the middle, colour on the bottom), muted colour palette, vector animal silhouettes and monotone logo. We took these elements and experimented with layouts and colours. One design included a close up of a dog nose texture, but this wouldn’t work for the other balms that catered for other animals. Icons of a paw print and dog nose were tried, but we felt this cluttered the already tight space on the label. We added two different silhouettes of dogs to show that this was for dogs of all sizes – our designer was particularly pleased to include a greyhound, as he had a pet greyhound himself. The blue was chosen as this is Johnson’s main colour and the paw balm was to be the more general balm, whilst the other two were for more specific purposes.
The back label was a little trickier, as there was a lot of information to include in a small space. We based the layout on other Johnson’s products that had similarly sized labels, repeatedly printing and testing how small the font could be whilst still being legible.
We presented our designs to the client and they were keen to go with the layout with the black bar, as this most closely resembled their early product designs. Following a few rounds of minor tweaks, we then reproduced the design for the other two balms. Whilst the layout remained largely the same, we used a complimentary pink and green to clearly show that they were different products, and added different versions of the animals to each to further solidify the fact it was for all dogs, cats and small animals.
Once the balm designs were approved, we then turned our attention to the display tray. The client requested this be black on brown cardboard, to further continue the nostalgic feel and keep printing costs down. We used a similar banded structure, and continued the use of silhouetted animals, adding birds on to represent the other animals that the balms could be used for. A brush script font and corner ornaments were also used to add to the retro vibe. To ensure the design would work once folded, we printed it out and mounted it on cardboard, which we then showed to the client to help them visualise how it would look.
When the balms and trays were professionally produced, we photographed them for use on the website and promotional materials.
To enhance customer interest, and ultimately sales, we then created a series of national and trade press releases to spread awareness of the product launch, ensuring the client’s key messages were at the heart of all communications.
Through the utilisation of our strong media relationships, we successfully secured a wide range of print and online coverage – including popular trade titles and online news publications, both regional and national. Our online coverage included backlinks to the Johnson’s website too – an important result for SEO purposes.
THE RESULTS
Johnson’s were very pleased with the designs and excited to show off the new retro designs. The feedback from stockists and customers was extremely positive, with many of them commenting on the sleek design and retro feel. This encouraged Johnson’s to continue to focus on their heritage and let their designs be influenced by the past. Wall art was printed for their office to showcase historical adverts, news articles and products. This collage was then used across the website, product guide and other promotional material.
Overall, the project was a success, that not only set a style for future designs, but also gave the client confidence in their approach. And our designer’s greyhound was happy to have a new paw balm that she was featured on too!