Motherbird’s ‘forward-drinking’ brand for Hey Tomorrow challenges your boxed wine preconceptions

Melbourne-based branding agency Motherbird have crafted boxed wine brand Hey Tomorrow’s progressive identity, asking its audience to be ‘Forward-Drinking’ by questioning their environmental impact. “Hey Tomorrow is all about creating a future of sustainable drinking,” Creative Director Jack Mussett tells us, championing boxed wine as the more environmentally-friendly alternative to its bottled counterpart, “through clever packaging, reduced carbon emissions and longer lasting wine.”

Keeping an eye on the past and future of the industry, as well as its expected aesthetics, Motherbird developed a meticulous brand strategy that tackles the brand’s international and local impact. The result was Hey Tomorrow’s confident and poetic name, emblematic of its long-lasting and eco-conscious pursuits. Motherbird then channelled this concept across the typographic output, once again avoiding any graphic tropes associated with wine.

“Selecting a typeface for the brand was a genuine balancing act,” Mussett details. “We needed to have enough personality to be approachable,” he continues, “but not so much personality that the brand overshadows the winemakers that Hey Tomorrow represents.” Placing enormous importance on the hierarchical ability of the typeface, they opted for Commercial Type’s Graphik to take on the challenge. “As a typeface, Graphik gave us the modernist feel we wanted,” Mussett recalls, translating the product’s quality and distinct messaging. “It allowed us to produce clear, concise messaging,” he adds, “that seamlessly works with photography and packaging, and sells the wine without overselling the brand.”

Hey Tomorrow’s eco-credentials continue in Motherbird’s systemised approach to colour. “The palette is a subtle nod to the wine varieties,” Mussett describes, opting for red, white and rosé hues. “As Hey Tomorrow partners with a variety of wineries,” he expands, “we wanted a clear system to denote which type of wine is in each box,” allowing the boxes to be sustainably printed in bulk, with the outside sleeves being made for each new vintage. “The tones of the brand and packaging colour palette are picked up throughout the photography,” he recalls, ensuring total consistency across the brand’s output. “We wanted to ensure the palette was recognisable but soft,” Mussett concludes, “and restrained enough to convey a high-quality feel.”

Motherbird

Hey Tomorrow