KR8 combine science, systems and smileys in organic health drinks brand AJA’s nucleic identity

Vienna and Tokyo-based branding and strategy studio KR8 have crafted the scientific identity for AJA, a drinks company dedicated to mentally and physically healthy beverages – packed with vitamins, minerals and organic health supplements. Launching with a range of four drinks, each with a specific purpose such as digestion or metabolism, AJA has a lot to offer, with enough science to back it up. “In late 2019, doctor and scientist Anca Jucker approached us with the idea,” KR8’s Florian Kowatz tells us, “after a quick research, we found that this could be a very interesting market niche on a heavily saturated market,” he adds, “and a nice challenge for us.” Balancing the practical benefits of the drink alongside its flavour, KR8 led the visual identity with a shifting logomark, designed in a pill-like form that alludes to its healthy context, the act of ‘switching on,’ the benefits of the beverage and the notion of cellular improvement. “The idea was to create a minimalist version of a human cell illustrating the outer membrane with its nucleus,” Kowatz recalls, “as in regular cells, the nucleus shifts within the membrane,” he explains “So, for the identity, we decided that the shift within the cell would be tied to the properties of the drink.” This device is then used to inform the bottle’s label design, whereby the logomark becomes the core of a layering system, crafting clusters of colours, function-indicating patterns and information. “To create a contrast to the scientific black and white world,” Kowatz notes, “we chose vibrant block colours that complement the colour of the drinks themselves,” adding to the systemised eclecticism of the visual language. Speaking on the subject, Kowatz explains, “we wanted to have a take on old apothecary design combined with a modern twist,” opting for Pangram Pangram’s Editorial New and Typefaces of The Temporary State’s Steinbeck to translate as much – typographically mixing traditional aesthetics with a contemporary edge.