Illicit Spirits is a craft distillery, located in a re-purposed railway arch that serves Glasgow Central Station. With a hands-on fascination for bold exploration and reinterpretation of classic ideas, Illicit makes contemporary drinks that are unique and memorable.
The operation was already up-and-running when founder Darran Edmond approached Rydo with a brief to review the nascent visual identity and brand; refining its proposition and core values along the way. The exercise resulted in the development of a new shorthand brand icon, a refreshed colour palette and a more clearly defined, confident use of typography. These elements combine to create a cohesive and assured visual approach, with a compact new website launched to kick-start the company‘s repositioning.
This put the groundwork in place for a redesign of product packaging for Illicit’s core range of gins: London Dry, the sweeter style New Tom and the unforgettably smokey Blacklist; along with the launch of a new series of single cask rums. Labels feature an array of appropriated artworks, with the Illicit cross icon stamped to the front as a symbiotic signature mark that provides intrigue while ‘claiming’ the adopted imagery.