Neon Wins Graphis Gold for ELX Esports Energy Drink Packaging
A little Christmas sparkle landed in our inbox — and it came wrapped in Gold.
Our work for ELX Energy Drinks has been awarded a Graphis Packaging 11 · Gold Award, recognising excellence in branding, packaging design, and craft at an international level.
Designed for the game. Awarded for the craft. 🏆
Award-Winning Esports Packaging Design
The Graphis Gold Award celebrates packaging that pushes creative boundaries while delivering strategic clarity. For Neon, this recognition reinforces our position as a leading branding and packaging agency, especially within the fast-moving worlds of gaming, esports, and performance nutrition.
This project wasn’t about decorating a can — it was about building a brand system that gamers instantly recognise as their own.
👉 View the official Graphis feature here.
Built From Gamer Culture, Not Marketing Tropes
From day one, the ELX packaging was designed to live inside gamer environments — desks, RGB-lit setups, streams, and tournament stages — not supermarket shelves alone.
Key design features include:
Genre-bespoke barcodes, tailored to gaming subcultures
Hidden Easter eggs, revealed through UV varnish
Bold, contemporary typography, optimised for digital and IRL visibility
A scalable system, flexible across flavours, formats, and future releases
Every detail rewards attention — just like a well-designed game.
Packaging That Performs On-Screen and IRL
Modern esports brands don’t just compete on shelves — they compete on streams, social, and content platforms. ELX needed packaging that could:
Read instantly on camera
Feel premium in hand
Integrate naturally into esports and gaming setups
Signal performance, energy, and credibility
The result is a confident, high-contrast packaging system that feels authentic to gamers while standing apart in a crowded energy drink market.
👉 Explore the full project on Neon’s website here.
Why This Matters for Branding & Packaging Strategy
Winning a Graphis Gold isn’t just a trophy — it’s validation that brand-led packaging design, when grounded in culture and craft, drives real impact.
At Neon, we believe:
Packaging is brand strategy made physical
Great design earns attention, trust, and loyalty
Cultural relevance is as important as visual impact
This project proves that when you design with the audience — not just for them — the results resonate globally.
Looking for a Leading Branding & Packaging Agency?
Whether you’re launching a challenger brand, evolving an existing product, or entering a culture-driven space like gaming, esports, or performance nutrition, we design brands that win attention and awards.
Thanks to ESN for trusting us — and to Graphis for the Gold.
If you have an upcoming branding/advertising project you’d like to talk about, then for sure contact Neon we’d be absolutely delighted to hear from you.
Please drop an email or connect via LinkedIn with Creative Director Dana Robertson.