THE VISUAL IDENTITY

The Canmaker is the leading trade publication for the metal packaging industry, delivering new features, reviews and comment.

Established in 1988, the visual identity had barely changed since its inception, and needed a complete overhaul to reach a new audience.

I created a new identity comprising logo, stationery, marketing materials, events, and redesigned the magazine itself.

The new Canmaker logo replaced the traditional serif with Trade Gothic, a typeface commonly used in newspapers and chosen to reference the magazine’s long news-making heritage.

I added a bold, graphic icon for a clean, contemporary look. The red circle represents a can as seen from above. The horizontal lines within represent newsprint, a simple visual shorthand for canmaking news. The lines also resemble the corrugated effect of a can viewed side-on, thus illustrating The Canmaker’s ability to communicate canmaking news from different angles.

Finally, a strapline was added to celebrate the magazine’s history and authority.

Full brand guidelines were also provided, offering detailed guidance on the usage of the new assets.

THE CANMAKER FAMILY

Five sub-brands live under The Canmaker umbrella: The Canmaker Summit, an annual conference; The Canmaker Cans of the Year Awards, an annual ceremony held at the summit and celebrating achievement in the industry; The Canmaker Gold Club, a paid membership; The Canmaker Technical Conference, held annually, and Cannex Fillex, a dual event which is held in two separate regions.

I devised a range of icons to represent each, with a simple colour palette. Red dominates the palette because of its historical association with the brand and the importance of red in Chinese culture, where The Canmaker has a large and significant readership.

THE ORIGINAL IDENTITY

The old branding, with its collection of disparate logos and dated fonts and colours, lacked a cohesive identity of its own, and was not representative of The Canmaker’s position as a world-leading voice in the industry.

MARKETING

The new branding was applied across all marketing materials, including adverts, emails, banners, subscription cards & flyers.

Taking inspiration from the magazine masthead, there are subtle differences in logo placement depending on the sub-brand. Circular designs, monochrome images, bold colour palettes and careful use of white space makes the content more legible and eye-catching than before.

EVENTS

The Canmaker runs several large events of its own and has exhibition stands at other events throughout the year, requiring a consistent brand presence.