TRYDENT

Class Typography and Technology

Year 2023

Type

Overview

An energy drink concept for people chasing perfection and reaching for Olympus. TRYDENT Energy is a radical yet accessible source of energy and vitalization aimed primarily at bodybuilders, powerlifters, and athletes.

I took inspiration from Greek mythology and current energy beverage trends in the market to develop the branding and visual identity of the company and product. Everything from the typography selection and customization to the primary mark was carefully curated to fit a tasteful blend of modern and ancient (if that even makes any sense). Even the tagline, "Churn the Waves of Chaos," is loosely based on an excerpt about Poseidon from Homer’s famous epic, The Odyssey.

The tagline Churn the Waves of Chaos set in mixed display and serif type in light blue on black, with three wavy blue lines beneath standing in for water

Seamless dark navy pattern tile of repeating trident marks and sparkles, with the corner of a can mockup cropping in from the top edge

Process Work

I wanted TRYDENT to be equally focused on its “healthy” appeal (the inclusions of vitamins, protein, and creatine that would help “muscle growth”) and radical appeal (selling a lifestyle or general perception of yourself, one of glory and power). However, I wanted my drink to deviate more from the traditional forms and branding of energy drinks, sort of the antiquated brands (some that are iconic and some that have fallen out of relevance). Not just in its branding, but in its design entirely, I wanted it to feel like something new in an oversaturated market while still not alienating potential consumers that just want some energy.

Before any of that, a page of trying to find the thing. Most of it is the trident under different excuses: a crossroad pitchfork, an ultra minimalist one, a crown, a Y shape, ocean lines, Poseidon himself. The notes are where the decisions are, and two of them are rejections written at the moment they happened, a candle drawn next to the mark it was starting to resemble, and a wordmark set in a sans marked “looks creepy (ha.)”.

The trident, tried every way it could be tried. The two annotations that matter are the ones killing an idea

Then the mark itself, four passes, moving the outer tines and the centre prong against each other until the proportion sat right.

four solid trident marks side by side, each with the outer tines and the centre prong at different heights relative to one another — Four passes at the trident. Only the tine and prong heights move

The wordmark for TRYDENT is an alteration of the word using “Gabriella Heavy” font. I stretched the edges of the T’s to make them appear sharper and edgier. I adjusted the Y to look more like a sharp weapon, like a duo-ident (ha.). I also moved the counters for personal preference.

Nine passes at the word. The T terminals sharpen, the Y closes into a weapon, and the counters keep moving

2x2 competitor map plotting energy drink brands from Radical to Wellness-centric and from Tradition Continuum to Novelty, with real logos including G Fuel, Prime, Bang, C4, Alani Nu, Red Bull, Zoa, Monster, Rockstar, Nos, Reign, Celsius and Guayaki placed across the four quadrants and the trident mark positioned near the Innovative Pioneers and Wellness Innovators boundary

The same 2x2 quadrant map redrawn with descriptive category labels in place of logos: Classic Energy Boost, Caffeine-Induced Creativity, Organic Energy, Plant-based Energy, Heritage and Sustainability, and Flavor Blast placed across the four quadrants

This was a typography class, so we ran typesetting exercises on the faces we picked: name every part, and be able to say why you chose it.

Anatomy diagram of Lapture Subhead Bold set as “Lorem”, labelling cap height, meanline, baseline, x-height, stem, bowl, counter, arm, eye, finial and shoulder — Lapture Subhead Bold

The same anatomy diagram set in Gabriella Heavy, showing how the squared forms move each named part — Gabriella Heavy, the face the wordmark was drawn from

Both faces then had to hold a line together. Three arrangements of the same eight words, moving where the break falls and how much size separates the two.

three arrangements of the tagline Churn the waves of Chaos, setting the heavy squared display face against a serif, with the line break and the size contrast between the two faces changing in each — Three settings of the tagline. The break moves, and so does how hard the two faces argue

all work