For a shorter version : check out this project on :Behance

Introduction

Lantern is a brand that makes and distributes all-American soft drinks served in major restaurants across the nation. Their products are made with fresh ingredients.

Lantern targets a market of "People on a Budget".

With rebranding they want to convey a old fashioned impression and their audience to feel a sense of importance whenever they consume their beverages.

Client

Lantern

Industry

Food (Beverages)

Service

Branding

Year

2026

Establishing Brand Strategy

Brand Goals

Lantern wants an intriguing handcrafted design to evoke a nostalgic feeling.

Brand Mission

A perceptive personality that conveys sense of importance and old fashioned impressions to their audience

Brand Values

Handcrafted , old fashioned , significance

Target Audience

People on a Budget

Strategy notes :

1) Dissect the brief to brainstorm ideas for design elements.
2) Handcraft/Illustrate the main design which highlights the sentiments brand wants to evoke for the customers using the brand colour : Green

Ideation (Brief dissection and Keywords)

Breaking down Keywords into Ideas :
Keyword 1 : Lantern is an "all-American brand"
Dissection : What signifies all-American - The American Flag , Statue of Liberty , The Bald Eagle.

Keeping in mind the brand color Green - the American Flag colour palette is

Incorporating Green in this will change its entire meaning .

Keyword 2 : Brand Value : "Sense of Importance"
Dissection : Something of significance , something that holds a value , something that holds weight
and highlight what weighs more with Bold (Typography , Design Elements)

Keyword 3 : Brand Value : "Old fashioned" :
Dissection : Old school (Old Lantern /oil lamp)
Vintage (Typography)
evoking Nostalgia (Lantern , old advertisements , posters and flyers)
Retro (Color Palette)

Keyboard 4 : Lantern wants an intriguing handcrafted design
Dissection : Handcrafted - Hand drawn , Handwritten , Paper /analog material + Texture)

Final analysis :
I selected Statue of Liberty (covering brand value : Sense of Importance and coherent with "all American" brand symbol) as the main design element holding a Lantern instead of a torch , paired with a retro styled handwritten/calligraphy logo with bold letters

Setting Initial Moodboard (Source : Pinterest)

Choosing the Color Palette

Primary : #346739

Primary : #9EA46C

Secondary : #1D2119

Secondary : #C1B87A

The primary brand colour is Green. Keeping in mind the brand values I involved difference shades of Green for branding.

Brand Value 1 : Old Fashioned : Retro Green color shades for Primary -> : #346739 , #9EA46C
Brand Value 2 : Sense of Importance : Bold -> Secondary : #1D2119 for Logo and shadows

Typography

Reasons for finalizing on 'Marketing Script' - it is very close to the retro style I imagined the logo to be:
1) The kerning , xheight is easily modifiable compared to other script typefaces in the selection
2) To include the 'Bold' style , the font weight is just in the sweet spot for adding the extra dominance and character.

Logo Exploration

Creating a custom logo from selected typeface : Marketing Script

Marketing script is a casual script typeface. The default typeface (1st logo as seen below) without any modification , needs a few adjustments in x-height , kerning and tracking .

After fixing x-height , kerning and tracking (2nd logo) and customizing the letter L
the main base of logo is ready.

To personalise the logo further for the brand , I added 'Bold' style using the selected colours in colour palette to make it appear raised and add a 3D appearance. And finally the 'Lantern' to bring the sense of old fashioned impression and overall vintage feel to the brand logo.