JKR redrew WKD's logo around an exclamation mark for the alcopop's 20th birthday

SHS Drinks, WKD's parent, asked several consultancies to pitch for a look that better reflects the attitudes of the brand's 18 to 24-year-old audience; Design Week frames the aim as a gender-inclusive feel.

An exclamation-mark identity: the old rectangular device stretched down the bottle above a circle, which acts as the brand's flexible dot.

JKR was appointed in April 2016 and redrew the logo and packaging. New bolder typography appears transparent on Blue and Iron Brew bottles to show the drink colour, brushstroke patterns 'inspired by oil-painting' feature on Berry and Passion Fruit, and bottle caps carry smiley, winking and heart icons.

The redesigned bottles were due to roll out in October 2016 in four flavours, with Blush renamed Passion Fruit and two low-calorie variants to follow at year-end. The article reports no results.

In August 2016, Design Week reported that JKR had designed new branding for the alcopop WKD, with an entirely redrawn logo, a marked departure from the redesign unveiled in May 2015. It launched to coincide with the vodka-based drink's 20th birthday. JKR said research revealed a big gap in consumer interests and demands since the brand launched in 1996.

The identity centres on an exclamation concept to represent the brand's 'sense of fun and excitement'. The rectangular device from earlier branding is elongated down the bottle above a circle, and the dot shape is used as a holder for flavour information and as an icon on other channels. The bottles were set to roll out in October with four flavours.

The brand needed to reconnect with an 18 to 24 audience whose interests had shifted since 1996.

The exclamation mark echoes the old rectangular device, giving continuity.

Transparent type and varied caps let each flavour carry its own colour and personality.

Anchoring a redesign in a simple shape that echoes the old device lets a brand look new without discarding what people recognise.

Design Week records the planned October 2016 roll-out and two low-calorie variants at the end of the year; a reader comment on the piece said the brand's biggest challenge would be shaking off its earlier lad-culture image.