details in the design: club des millionnaires

You'd need a thousand words, at least, to explain who you are. Same with a brand. And it's probably TL;DR anyway. That's why in branding, we use the shorthand of graphic design instead. 

Welcome to our Details in the Design series, where we explore how our graphic design work brings a brand identity to life.  

Club Des Millionnaires is a century-old brand classic that sells small fish. It got its name from a group of Montreal businessmen who imported sardines from Portugal to eat at their club. Eventually, they sold the fish to retailers and called the brand after their club, the Club Des Millionnaires.

This little fish brand is full of personality and heritage. But over time, the package designs became mismatched, and brand identity and typography began to show their age. When Ocean Brands acquired Club Des Millionnaires, they asked us to perk up the little fish with a brand refresh.

When your brand is this old, it has earned its equity and should retain its character. For us, that meant keeping the name, the sardine character, and selecting other elements from old package designs. We also needed to communicate the product's premium quality.

The sardine character, for example, now wears his top hat, instead of gesturing, hat-in-hand, to the consumer. He appears to stand more upright, and he is gold instead of white. He offers his hand as an invitation. Combined, these elements all give the impression of a premium experience.

The brand identity typeface changed, and so did its shape. It went from a black and white arc, outlined in black, to gold with a light shadow, thicker lines, and a fishtail on the R for personality. The new logo looks more regal. Paired with the attentive sardine character, the new wordmark has captured the brand's heritage, whimsy, and premium quality.

We also tweaked the packages' pencil sketches to match the refreshed brand's simplicity and smiling elegance. Inspired by the Norwegian Fjords, the drawings are like storybook illustrations. As the story goes, a club of wealthy Montrealers bought these little fish from sailing boats across the ocean and later sold them in Canada's supermarkets. For over 100 years, this small fish has had a big shelf presence.