Above
Brand

Above Brand: How to make your brand from sketch. I always wanted to create a brand that I would have loved to be seen around. A brand that could follow ethical principals and have a message to spread: the beauty of multiculturalism. In the past two years, while freelancing, I founded Above Brand from scratch. I started with the idea, continuing with the design, the production logistics, brand management, marketing and everything related to the creation and maintenance of it. At Above Brand we brew creative beers bottled in eco-friendly stylish packaging. All in collaboration with the best brewers. We are proud to use organic ingredients and produce small quantities to have quality control.

We believe that small companies can make the difference in providing high-quality products made with love and passion. We live and breath in a beautifully multicultural society and dedicate each beer bottle packaging to a different country. Our first beer is dedicated to Japan and made in collaboration with Dutch vandeStreek Brewery. Our beer testimonial is the Japanese DJ and artist Kiki Hitomi. Our aim is to provide a great experience, inspire, be an example.

Above Brand Rationale

The bottle design is a tribute to Japanese culture and the white pattern used on the bottle is a reinterpretation of a traditional Japanese Seigaiha pattern. Seigaiha pattern consists of concentric circles that overlap representing sea waves. The pattern brings peace, wealth and abundance, as the sea does. I liked to use it as it's a beautiful and well known pattern but I also liked to communicate the importance of learning to follow the calm flow of life, without always rushing and be in the look of the next goal. I have studied its shape and re-drawn it in order to add a contemporary feel to it and personalise it.

The Logo Mascot appears in different colours throughout the campaign. It represents Above Brand community. Has a tear dropping on its face as symbol of compassion. The idea it's inspired by the Hinduist goddess of compassion Tara, who borns with a tear dropping from her face. The reason of using such a strong symbol is because with Above Brand we are spreading the message of the beauty of differences and the importance of a multicultural society. I decided to create a mascot that could represent that, as compassion is essential to accept yourself and others.

The pattern used for posters is created by parts of the mascot's face. The idea is to regularly create new posters which shapes are extrapolated from the mascot face in order to give the impression that Above Brand embraces all races, shapes and colours. The shapes represent people who are living peacefully and get together to form Above Brand mascot's face. 

The idea is to create special edition beers in collaboration with the best brewers and dedicate their bottles to different countries with a pattern representing their visual culture. The black bottle is made with recycled glass and screen printed using organic colours. I love screen printing bottles as I like the look of it and allows the usage of the entire surface of the bottle. Moreover, screen printing technique is eco-friendly as uses less recycling processes than paper labels or shrink sleeves. With a good recycling system can also be washed and re-used. 

A special thank to Designer and photographer Lucia Rusikanova who helped with the photography and Musician and Signer Kiki Hitomi who is the campaign model. Jewellery Designer Elisha Francis who designed the septum worn by Kiki. Copywriter and Designer Justin Lim who helped with the campaign copy. Designer Matteo Reggi who helped with the pins design. www.abovebrand.uk