Intertype Studio leads first Grey Goose redesign in the vodka’s history
Grey Goose vodka has refreshed its brand and bottle design for the first time since it launched in 1997.
The work was led by London-based Intertype Studio who worked closely with the French brand, bought by Bacardi in 2004, on its core product, its flavour range, and its new high-end vodka, Altius.
“This redesign is truly a milestone moment as it’s the first evolution Grey Goose has done since the brand’s creation,” says Krystina Robinson, global brand director of Grey Goose.
“Over the years, design codes shift, sustainability standards shift, and consumer expectations of the category shift, so the brand needs to evolve with those things. We had to figure out how to reimagine this icon, while preserving the French spirit that’s really its soul.
“How do you make it contemporary, while maintaining the best of what makes Grey Goose, Grey Goose?”
As one of the market leaders, the scale of a redesign like this is a complex creative and logistical challenge. Robinson explains that it was a close collaboration between different teams, from design to operations, as well as with Intertype founder and creative director, Asa Cook.
Robinson says Cook was “the perfect partner” because he could “speak the language of engineering and operations,” as well as craft and creativity. This is crucial, she explains, to ensure they don’t end up being presented with “ideas that look beautiful on paper” but don’t work in the real world.
The project began by identifying and aligning on the brand’s DNA, which Robinson describes as authenticity, elegance, and a modern aesthetic.
Cook saw his role as helping the team protect and evolve Grey Goose’s existing brand qualities – evolution, not revolution.
“I can vividly remember the first time I saw that bottle, and I was mesmerised by it in design terms, because it takes you on a journey,” he says. “So I really wanted to retain that, and then amplify the elegance, without losing any of the magic.”
The bottle shape itself looks very similar, but it’s slimmer, narrower and more elegant. This lighter structure reduces the product’s carbon emissions by 12% – which bolsters the brand’s sustainability credentials – and it has practical advantages, like being easier to handle for bartenders.
On the bottle, Cook explains, “Every detail has been recrafted. So it’s like nothing remains, but everything remains.”
The logotype was redrawn, in collaboration with lettering artist Ginger Monkey, removing its previous drop shadow which the team felt looked dated. Small tweaks modernised the letterforms, such as the “little negative flick on the ‘G’ which suggest the feather or the wing of a goose,” Cook explains.
The mountain scene above the name was redrawn too – previously it felt dark and brooding with its choppy waters. Cook points out Grey Goose is made with natural water, but the old scene felt like a seascape.
“We wanted to create a crystal clear kind of clarity through the reflection of the mountain in the water,” he says.
The flock of flying geese was simplified and reduced in number, while the larger nesting goose was turned to face the same way as those in mid-air, to make these elements feel more connected.
The overall number of geese that appear on the bottle was reduced by more than half, from 67 to 32.
“We recrafted all of those small illustrative elements that you wouldn’t necessarily notice unless you look very, very closely,” Cook says. “You almost don’t know that it’s changed – you feel that it’s changed.”
Robinson adds that when they tested the new designs, the feedback was that the new bottle “looked even more like itself.”
As part of the broader brand world, Intertype worked with Dalton Maag on a bespoke new typeface, Grey Goose Natural, inspired by the new logotype. Available in light and book weights, it’s designed with a “a subtle sense of flux, as though the type itself is natural and in motion.”
For the flavour range, the changes again were subtle. The colour palette for the pear, orange, and lemon variations was tweaked. They also wanted to replace the impressionistic fruit paintings that appeared on the back-of-pack.
The previous images, Cook explains, felt like they belonged “inside a French farmhouse kitchen.” They wanted the ingredients to have “more of an al fresco feel” so they commissioned an artist to repaint them outside, in natural light.
“We didn’t try to fake anything,” Cook says. “We put the time into the craft of creating real oil paintings.”
Intertype also worked with Grey Goose on the product design, naming, packaging, and branding for its new premium vodka, Grey Goose Altius. It’s made with a process that mirrors the effects of glacial temperatures, which create high-altitude crystallisation.
Robinson says it was a challenging brief, breaking into a new space with, “a different set of expectations and category dynamics.”
“We wanted to break the mold, but we wanted to do it our way,” she explains.
Prestige spirits like this are often delivered to tables with a sense of spectacle, and Grey Goose wanted a design that worked in that high-energy context, without losing the elegant restraint the brand is known for.
The sculptural, elongated bottle is designed to reflect the quality of the product, and the central brand idea of the pure and rarefied upper atmosphere. The neck has a “frosted blue drift” that stretches up to the modernist stopper, while the bottom of the bottle reimagines the mountain scene as a faceted 3D design.
“We wanted to retain those key memory structures,” Cook says, “so it it’s building on the equity, rather than reinventing it.”
Robinson was thrilled with the final design.
“I think Intertype knocked it out of the park,” she says. “It’s such a beautiful product, where our effortless chic meets modernity in a really interesting way.”
Since the new designs rolled out across the range, sales figures have been positive, and the team is confident the redesign has pulled off its tricky balancing act.
“It’s making sure two things are balanced – the weight of the brand heritage, while still looking forward, and understanding the codes of today,” Robinson says.
“We haven’t communicated the change until now – there’s no need to shout about it. People will feel the change, and that’s its success.”