Bletchley Park was once the top-secret home of the World War Two Codebreakers and the birthplace of modern information technology. Today, it is an award-winning heritage visitor attraction, operating as a charity to further the understanding of the historical achievements that took place there while exploring the contemporary challenges of a technologically complex society.

To help provide additional revenue streams, the team at Bletchley Park invited us to help them launch The Bletchley Park Gin, to sell in the museum gift shop, the on-site cafe, at special events and locally in Milton Keynes. They briefed us to create packaging which would remain consistent with the master-brand we created for them in 2013, but which would help the product stand out against commercial gins while appealing to gin enthusiasts and Bletchley Park visitors alike.

We learned that gin was the favourite tipple of many of the Bletchley Park veterans during the war. So we wanted to evoke their 1940s spirit of resourcefulness and referred back to the distinctive code pattern we created for the identity, to see how we could use it in a new and distinctive way. We landed on white text on a clear label, evoking the etched vintage siphons of the era. Incorporating the code pattern into the label also gave us the perfect opportunity to create a playful new puzzle for budding code-breakers; all ten of the botanical ingredients are hidden within the pattern.

The gin itself is a London Dry Gin and was created by local artisan producers, Wharf Distillery, who specialize in small batch production. It was officially launched to the public with a series of gin tasting events featuring cocktails specially crafted for the occasion. Initial sales have proved hugely positive and Bletchley Park has already commissioned a second batch as well as a limited edition Christmas gin.