Inc. staff

And a Sixth Way. Stow the Strait-Jacket

Deskey's final and favorite approach to the Dave's makeover, titled Biological Classifications of Good Taste. Will visual elegance and dry wit sell Insanity Sauce?

 

Poster: courtesy Deskey; Product shots: Anthony Verde (4)

THE NEW PRODIGY Deskey presents a brand makeover

Handmade--by smart alecks
"This design feels like Grandma's kitchen--as though you bought it on the side of the road where she sells chickens. The handwriting makes each jar feel homemade and not mass-produced by big machines. We did some type vertically to extend that feeling and increase interaction--so you can spend half a minute with the jar instead of 10 seconds."

Since it's all about buzz
"We're showing that the flavor is giant by making the bees almost as big as the humans. We use the type as a graphic element to maximize every inch of the label and make it work hard for someone with no marketing or media budget. You start reading, thinking ingredients are about to be described, and then it's like, "We paid the bees to put in the mustard."

Kind of crazy
"We use different characters to pack in as much humor as possible and bring the idea of extreme heat to life. At one point we had a sketch of someone actually on fire. And the copy--'I need to sell sauce to people who like this @%!$# look'--is a way to poke fun at his current loyalists without offending them."

Carpe Dave's
"This could have been an ad. With all of them, we were trying to treat gourmet differently than the typical. It's easy to have nothing on the label and a tiny little tomato and call it gourmet--but that's not what Dave is. Gourmet doesn't have to be serious. It can be awesome. Don't feel like you have to be some snotty wine freak to buy good food."

It's worth a shot
"This was an easy one--sometimes you have an idea that just sparks. Here's William Tell, but in regular work clothes. Who better to have the apple shot off his head than the intern? It's the crappiest job at the office! Adding humor debunks the stuffy nature of gourmet."