Ocean Bottle is a purpose-led company tackling the ocean plastic crisis through beautifully engineered, refillable bottles. Each bottle funds the collection of 11.4kg of ocean-bound plastic, the equivalent of 1000 plastic bottles, via a global network of plastic collectors. With a strong DTC presence, a growing B2B offering, and a fiercely engaged community, the brand had built real momentum. Their aesthetic leaned into activism and impact: bold, unapologetic, and unfiltered. The work here was about strengthening that momentum. I was brought in to evolve the visual language for scale, giving it the structure and creative discipline it needed to grow, without losing its soul.

The challenge was to bring greater coherence and hierarchy to a brand that had evolved quickly, without breaking what people already loved. Ocean Bottle needed a visual system that could balance its activist spirit with a more premium, lifestyle-led direction. The identity had to flex across a growing ecosystem: site, social, email, packaging and app, while staying true to the brand’s tone of voice and values. Colour needed to work harder across product-led palettes, and content needed a more consistent structure to support both storytelling and conversion. The aim wasn’t to simplify. It was to sharpen. To make the brand feel elevated, confident and cohesive, without losing its sense of optimism or purpose.

We started by identifying what needed to evolve, and what deserved to stay. The core brand idea of Small Bottle. Big Impact. was powerful, but the visual tools weren’t stretching far enough to elevate the brand’s credibility or support its momentum. I worked closely with the internal team to articulate a sharper definition of what Ocean Bottle stood for, and how it needed to show up. The strategy centred on the interplay of contrasting qualities: natural and manmade, human and mechanical, raw and refined. The challenge was to codify that blend in a way that felt premium without losing its purpose-led spirit. We needed a system that could flex across formats and functions, from social to packaging, lifestyle to policy, without fracturing. Colour, typography and art direction all had to serve the same purpose, to build coherence without dulling the energy. The new identity had to feel global and grown-up, while staying radically honest about the problem it exists to solve.

The new system re-established clarity with a refined typographic approach. Condensed styles were replaced with LL Circular, a geometric sans serif that paired warmth with authority. Forward-leaning italics and lightweight caps brought pace, optimism and edge. Ocean-inspired graphics added contrast to balance the clinical structure. Photography focused on real people and real moments. Bold crops and natural texture gave the brand visual presence without slipping into cliché. Colour was central: neutrals built trust, while accents provided rhythm, emphasis and adaptability. The system also had to flex across an expanding product line, letting the palette shift without losing cohesion. At the centre sat the Ocean Bottle loop—a quiet icon with a lot to say. Across digital, packaging and brand playbooks, all elements come together through collage-style layouts, using type, imagery and shape to tell visual stories. The result is a confident, adaptable identity built to do good.

The refresh did more than elevate Ocean Bottle's look, it positioned the brand as a serious, design-first player with purpose at its core. Internally, the revised system brought the team structure and clarity, allowing consistent application across social, packaging, email, digital and retail touchpoints. The result is work that feels both calm and confident, with every visual decision reinforcing the brand’s mission. Within a year, Ocean Bottle had secured £7 million in new funding, signalling investor trust in the direction and credibility of the refreshed identity. Estimated annual revenue sits near £13 million, placing the brand firmly in the market at scale. This commercial traction aligns neatly with the improved market perception generated by a smarter visual presence. Their Instagram community grew by 40% in just fourmonths, driven by consistent posting and community management. Repeat purchase rates improved, and key partnerships — from Deloitte to Soho House — strengthened the brand’s commercial credibility. More than a million units sold have translated into around 11.4 kilograms of ocean-bound plastic removed per bottle, amounting to over 4.6 million kilograms of plastic cleared from waterways. This tangible impact has supported stronger partnerships and media coverage, elevating the brand’s profile beyond festivals and activism circles. Perhaps most importantly, the refreshed identity now works as hard as the product. It communicates certainty without arrogance, purpose without greenwashing, and gives the team the creative freedom to push forward with consistency and impact.