Featured image for Student Week:  Baku Shochu Highball

Student Week: Baku Shochu Highball

by Chloe Gordon on 08/27/2021 | 3 Minute Read

There's your simple can design, and then there's BAKU Shochu Highball, a conceptual beverage designed by student designer Jasper Kenzo Miura.

Jasper paid close attention to the details through this design, including a clear cast PVC transparency grid that can spin around the can to create the effect of animated bubbles. Furthermore, each can comes with a lid seal to maximize cleanliness on the can's top when sold individually. Subsequently, when peeled off, each lid exposes a Japanese idiom related to the flavor, revealing yet another unmissed branded moment.

Overall, the design is friendly by using soft colors and a fun, bold type full of movement. Not to mention, the illustrations are darling.


Editorial photograph

BAKU Shochu Highball is a hypothetical beverage packaging design concept seeking to bring the popular Japanese canned alcoholic drink to the United States. This dreamy beverage features the baku, a mythological chimera tapir that drinks nightmares. With three traditional flavors that pair perfectly with Japanese cuisine, BAKU will transport any Japanophile to the land of the rising sun.

To add to the illusory mystique of BAKU, the package features a three-part label, including a BOPP base label with matte laminate finish, overlain by a clear cast PVC transparency grid that can be spun around the can. The grid is held in place at the top and bottom by a Neenah Bella White Vellum diecut, which includes a wet strength additive to increase resistance to tearing or shriveling in moisture and maximize adhesion. As the grid is spun around the can, small animations of bubbles rising from the bottom can be observed.

Editorial photograph

For an additional branding opportunity and to elevate the drinking experience, a double-sided TOPSYL lid seal by Ecocap's is included for individually-sold packages. This seal technology protects the can throught its life cycle by preventing mold and bacteria, and is 100% recyclable with low environmental impact. When the lid is peeled off the top of the can, a Japanese idiom related to the flavor is revealed, alongside the definition and pronunciation.

When sold in multiples, the cans are held by a KeelClip paperboard can holder. This environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic rings, tops, and shrink wrap is made from renewable resources and uses significantly less board than most other carton options. This can holder will use a lithographic lamination print process with a soft touch on paperboard.

Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph
Editorial photograph