JKR

“Strengthen a worldwide icon”

Guinness is a global brand that did not share global iconography.

The famous settling pint in a Dublin pub is worlds away from the bottle of stout proudly clutched in a Nigerian bar. These differences were amplified by pack graphics and other iconography which pulled the brand in several directions.

jkr were asked to create a more refined, distinctive and impactful design system to build a more unified feel for the brand globally. We were tasked with taking this opportunity to make the brand more relevant to a new generation.

Making the harp sing

We started with the harp – it’s the one device that consumers globally recall in research and can draw from memory. We crafted it adding a sense of movement to the strings.

We stripped the core identity back, and ensured it always reversed out of black. This done, we began to amplify the role of the harp across countermounts, cans and glassware.

The net effect was a brand where simplicity and confidence created a more magnetic and contemporary personality for the brand.

“It’s now one of our tightest examples of brand iconography, and the can is a great example of a brand which pulls rather than pushes.”

It would be silly to suggest that design alone drove the brand's sales success. But it has been acknowledged within Diageo as a catalyst for Guinness' strong performance in myriad channels of communication.

“Having a global iconography & packaging that works in 150 markets around the world is highly beneficial - not only financially but also from a brand perspective, as it allows us to communicate a consistent message to all our consumers.”