High Tide

About the Partnership

I’m not the only one who grew up on sugary sodas and junk food. In my early adulthood, I discovered the real elixir of life: water. I still get the occasional soda craving, but now I reach for a healthier alternative like sparkling water. So when Ian, Co-founder of High Tide, reached out about completely refreshing their sparkling water brand, I was all in—and a little thirsty.
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Our first call lasted two hours, and I probably only said five words. Ian shared the story that brought him into the industry, the challenges he was facing, and his vision for the future. The High Tide brand was at a crossroads. In a category flooded with new competition, the pressure was on to take the company to the next level.

Raising the Standard of Refreshment

What makes High Tide stand out is their short ingredient list, usually just three per can. This became a key selling point we knew we had to highlight. During the brand strategy phase, we uncovered that High Tide’s philosophy is simple: a great drink doesn’t need a long list of ingredients, just the right ones. By using only a few premium, real ingredients, they create bold, clean flavors that actually taste good.

The Logo That Goes With the Flow

Like most projects, we created a custom logo mark tailored for their brand. The backbone of the High Tide logo was built from the font Casual by OH no Type Co. The logo went through many iterations with the tiniest tweaks. It was actually a source of many heated debates between Ian and Matthew, the other Co-founder, over two nearly identical variations of the final logo. I mediated when I could, but mostly wished I had a bag of popcorn to enjoy the debate. Which one did we choose? A combination of both, of course.

We loved the idea of the logo having a sense of movement and flow. The final logo has characteristics of a script that feels effortlessly made while having subtle details of precision.

The High Tide Can

The High Tide can was the most important brand touchpoint to get right. It needed to be recognizable, memorable, and appetizing. With so many other sparkling drinks fighting for attention, we had to create something that felt truly ownable.

We leaned heavily into showcasing the ingredients large on the front of the can, surrounded by hand-drawn illustration elements that add a sense of motion to the fruit. The strokes of these illustrations were inspired by the script style of the logo, giving the feeling that someone had drawn directly onto the can with a marker.
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One of the challenges was finding a way to visually separate the three sugar-free flavors from the single yuzu flavor with cane sugar. Do we invert the colors? Change the layout? Or drop the flavor entirely? The sales split made the choice trickier — half of customers preferred sugar-free sparkling waters, while the other half went for the yuzu sparkling juice.

Ian suggested adding a horizontal stripe pattern to the sugar-free cans, inspired by the striped straws you might find at a boardwalk creamery. It was a simple change that instantly evoked a feeling of refreshment and nostalgia, helping the sugar-free line stand apart while still feeling part of the High Tide family.

A Memorable Digital Presence

We built a sleek Shopify site for High Tide that brings all of the brand elements together in one place. The goal was to create an online home that felt as fresh and bold as the brand itself. From the vibrant color palette to the playful typography and custom illustrations, every detail was designed to reflect High Tide’s identity.

The site not only showcases the product beautifully but also tells the brand’s story, making it easy for customers to connect with the look, feel, and flavor of High Tide in just a few clicks.