client
Highland Boundary
scope
Packaging & Promo Design
sector
Food & Drink
Hand-drawn labels inviting a taste of Scotland’s wild heritage
Highland Boundary’s Wild Botanical Syrups aim to restore Scotland’s lost cultural connection to native plants like Honeysuckle, Gorse, and Scots Pine. These wild Scottish flavours bring ancient plant-lore into modern use, reviving interest in traditional species through cocktails, mocktails and desserts.
The syrups reconnect people with the culinary and cultural value of wild produce. They contribute to biodiversity restoration and regenerating native woodlands. This mission fosters a deeper public understanding of Scotland’s wild flora and its role in fragile ecosystems.
project brief
The brief was to create a cohesive label set for Highland Boundary’s syrups: Honeysuckle, Gorse, and Scots Pine. The client wanted botanical accuracy, inviting visuals, and a clear house style that adapts easily across the product range. Each label needed to balance detailed illustration with abstract appeal while being suitable for hand application.
Importantly, the design had to align with the brand’s environmental values and sustainable production practices.The target audience included mixologists, chefs, and curious everyday consumers.
The approach
Label Design
The final labels feature bold, stylised botanical illustrations printed using eco-friendly water-based inks on sustainable paper. Each label follows a clean rectangular format for easy hand application. Wild botanical elements appear to ‘grow out’ of the design, adding natural dynamism.
As a result, the visual style balances plant recognition with expressive abstraction. This encourages emotional connection with Scotland’s native flora. Typography is clean and intuitive, offering both aesthetic impact and easy readability. Through visual storytelling, the design educates and invites consumers to value native plants and their unique flavours.
Botanical Postcards
To extend the product launch, botanical postcards were created using the same vivid illustrations. Each double-sided card features a striking botanical front with a blank reverse for notes or display. These cards serve multiple purposes: artwork, educational material, or store props. They help carry the wild flavour concept beyond packaging, deepening engagement.
Digital Assets
To ensure consistency online, digital banners and email headers were designed to match the label style. They translate the core illustrations into web-friendly formats for use on the website, newsletters, and social platforms. Thus, the wild, expressive identity of the range remains strong across all digital touchpoints.
Wild Scottish Flavour Wheel
The Wild Scottish Flavour Wheel is a radial infographic mapping native species by taste and intensity. It offers an intuitive way to explore Scotland’s wild ingredients. Crucially, this tool is educational, promoting curiosity and safe, sustainable foraging. It also supports community-building by sharing knowledge of wild flavours in our landscape.
The wheel features the wild botanical syrup illustrations. Bold colour segments reflect the flavour spectrum and echo the wild palette used by the brand.
client testimonial
highly talented designer, capable of working on varied briefs and steering clients brilliantly through a process
“We work with Kirsty of Hickman Design on several design projects. Kirsty is a highly talented designer, capable of working on varied briefs and steering clients brilliantly through a process. Kirsty’s approach gives both space and structure for creativity, produces top quality deliverables and works to really well managed timescales and budgets. I highly recommend Hickman Design!”
– Simon Montador, Managing Director at Highland Boundary
A Humble Contribution
As a designer, contributing to this mission felt deeply rewarding. Translating Scotland’s wild plants into hand-drawn visuals combined creativity with purpose. This project revealed how design can support both aesthetic value and environmental goals. Moreover, working with a regenerative, place-based brand like Highland Boundary made the experience especially meaningful. It was more than a creative brief – it was a chance to reconnect people with the natural world through design.
