Saiko Sake is an Americanized sake label inspired by a story from ancient Japanese mythology. The storm God, Susanoo, was banished from heaven by his sister Amaterasu to the province of Idzumo. While on earth, Susanoo proves his worthiness by rescuing a man’s last surviving daughter from her fate of being sacrificed to an eight-headed dragon. Susanoo instructs the man to brew eight-fold sake, to make eight cupboards and in each of them set a tub filled with sake. The dragon consumed the sake and drifts into a drunken stupor. Then Susanoo drew a ten-span sword and chopped the serpent into pieces, finding a sword in the dragon’s tail to present to his sister as a reconciliation gift, and rescuing her from an almost certain fate.
Storytelling gives life to brands and takes the consumer on a journey they yearn to experience. Saiko Sake is defined by its humanistic storytelling and illustrative style. Saiko Sake targets men ages 25 - 40 and challenges their audience to unleash imagination and embark upon an adventure.
To communicate the modern style of the brand, I kept the logo simple and modified it in a way that makes Saiko, meaning the greatest, easier to pronounce. The typeface, Tungsten, evokes trust and authenticity. The label is embedded in the waves and interacts with the illustration. This elegant and playful interaction is catchy and differentiates Saiko as not only a unique americanized sake brand but also an illustrative label. To embellish special editions and limited releases, abstract tissue paper decorates the bottle, providing spunk, an air of exclusivity and flair. The bottle tag concisely describes the sake flavor and is illustrated as an engaging infographic, to quickly summarize information about the product. The brand passionately evokes trust, and invites consumers to be bold, daring and different.