Design:
Process:
april2026
CHALLENGE
Howe Sound is being exploited through leisure culture and a lack of ecotourism.
INSIGHT
Audiences believe the ocean can be purchased and used for leisure, without
regard to the degradation of natural resources.
OPPORTUNITY
Conversations become a point of articulation, the first step of intervention.
Coolers are often drunk on boats for leisure during conversation.
IDEA
Howe Coolers: The sound of conversation.
We’re making conversations productive by releasing a coolers with conversation
prompts on the packaging, to get people talking and educated on the cause.
Context:
Howe: The Sound of Conversation is a speculative beverage campaign built around Howe Sound, a coastal region northwest of Vancouver shaped by leisure, tourism, industry, and environmental responsibility. The project identifies a tension between how people enjoy the water and how little they may consider the impact of that enjoyment. Through the fictional brand Howe Coolers, the campaign turns a casual social object into a prompt for environmental reflection.
The idea is based on a simple observation: coolers are often consumed on boats, at cottages, and during conversations around the water. Instead of letting those moments stay passive, the packaging uses conversation starters to make people think about pollution, tourism, land use, and accountability. Each flavour is named after an island or location within Howe Sound, including Bowen Spritz, Melon Mojito, Pasley Cosmopolitan, and Keats Margarita, tying the product directly back to the place it is speaking about.
The campaign includes can designs, posters, PR packaging, social media mockups, bus shelter ads, liquor store placements, wheat-pasted posters, and a website. Visually, the work uses bright, approachable packaging to pull people in, while the copy asks them to reconsider their relationship to the water they are enjoying. The project also proposes that 5% of profits go toward the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society, connecting awareness to tangible support.
At its core, Howe Coolers is about making leisure less mindless. It uses the familiar language of drinking, boating, and social conversation to create a campaign that feels accessible, but still asks a serious question: what do we owe to the places we use for escape?
Mockups:
Social:
Ryan Reynolds is a Canadian actor, entrepreneur and environmental
activist (born in Vancouver).
By collaborating with him, we increase Howe Cooler’s UGC, while
making it relatable and shareable.
Print:
Wheatpaste posters on a boardwalk near Ambleside, Vancouver.Digital poster in Stanley Park, Vancouver to push environmental themeConversational poster in BCLBus shelter poster near English Bay in Vancouver