The ever-popular nautical theme is exercised coherently and captivatingly in Mercator Beer packaging. The vessels hold a premium Belgian India pale ale and the product gets its name from a historic 1936 ship that's located in Oostende.
There's a tendency to go overboard when working with such distinctive visual imagery, but Norwegian designer Vibeke Illevold kept things looking clean. She wrapped a shiny nylon cord around the entire neck of each bottle to reference the many ropes that can be found on sailboats.
Apart from this unconventional beer bottle accessory, a simple a crest was etched onto the front of each vessel, encouraging consumers to collect them all. Mercator Beer packaging features an iron anchor, a spoked steering wheel, a lifesaver ring and an iconic navigation star. Stamped brown paper caps display the same symbols.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Nautical Branding
- Companies can leverage nautical motifs and symbols to create visually distinctive branding for their products.
- Accessorized Packaging
- Packaging designers can add uncommon and eye-catching accessories to products to make them stand out in competitive markets.
- Collection Incentives
- Brands can encourage customers to collect multiple products by creating an incentive, like a unique design element on each item in the collection.
Sectors Adopting This
- Craft Beer
- Craft beer brands can create visually striking packaging by incorporating unconventional design elements and leveraging popular themes.
- Luxury Spirits
- Luxury spirits brands can create limited edition packaging featuring unique design elements to drive sales and foster brand loyalty among collectors.
- Maritime Retail
- Maritime retail brands can incorporate nautical themes into their product designs to make them more appealing to customers who are interested in boating and other water-based activities.
