Mitch’s Craft Kitchen – Labels for Pickles & Hot Sauces

Apr 16, 2021 | Packaging, Print Design

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Mitch's Craft Kitchen Bread & Butter Pickles

Mitch's Craft Kitchen Hot Sauce

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MitchLabels_Pickle Label 1 BB
MitchLabels_HotSauce Label GAHS
MitchLabels_HotSauce Label CO
MitchLabels_HotSauce Label CHS
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Case Study: Crafting a Standout Brand for Mitch’s Craft Kitchen
The Challenge

Mitch, the creative force behind Mitch’s Craft Kitchen, is known for his exceptional pickles and hot sauces, crafted with care in Ontario’s vibrant cottage economy. While his products were already a hit among friends, Mitch wanted to take things a step further by establishing a more official presence for farmers’ markets and private sales.

He started with a logo designed by his trusted tattoo artist, but the typography didn’t quite align with his vision. Mitch needed a type treatment that honored the original design but elevated it for the competitive artisan food market.

The Solution

With the tattoo artist’s blessing, I stepped in to refine the design. My approach focused on enhancing the text to:

    Maintain the Authenticity: Keep the spirit of the original artwork, ensuring Mitch’s unique brand personality was preserved.
    Ensure Market Appeal: Develop a bold and polished type treatment that would resonate with customers at farmers’ markets.
    Balance Aesthetics and Functionality: Design text that complements the artwork while standing out on labels and packaging.

The Process

Understanding the Brand: I explored Mitch’s vision for Mitch’s Craft Kitchen, ensuring the typography aligned with his rustic yet modern vibe.
Collaborative Refinement: I worked closely with Mitch to adapt the original logo, experimenting with fonts and layouts that felt relevant to his product offerings.
Design Execution: After narrowing down the options, I crafted a clean, versatile type treatment that complemented the tattoo-inspired design and reinforced Mitch’s brand identity.

The Outcome

The refined logo seamlessly combined the original artwork with a custom type treatment, giving Mitch’s Craft Kitchen a professional edge. The new branding now turns heads at farmers’ markets and helps his products stand out, reflecting the care and craft that Mitch pours into every jar and bottle.

This project was a testament to the power of collaboration and thoughtful design in bringing a cottage-industry brand to life.

Original Artwork

Repurposed Artwork

I agreed with Mitch. There really wasn’t a way to make Mitch’s Craft Kitchen work with the current hand-drawn type treatment. So, I altered the old logo with the artist’s permission to give it a clean slate.

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I chose Hasty because it looked like it could be etched into a substrate with sharp blades like the ones depicted in the artwork. It is also bold and attention-grabbing.
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The supporting typefaces are Futura and Futura Condensed. These geometric sans-serif typefaces helped to establish trust and credibility. It’s a balanced typeface with tall ascenders making it one of the more cleaner types at smaller point sizes.
I drew inspiration for the color schemes based on the ingredients. Cranberry Hot Sauce, Chilli Oil, Espresso Hot Sauce, Peach Habañero Sauce, & Green Apple Hot Sauce.
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