rodgers crossing
beer label design and collateral
For my advanced typography class, I created a beer label design and collateral for real client. The goal of the project was to design a logo and supporting collateral that was visually appealing and created a proper narrative relating to the Rodgers Crossing brown ale.
The idea: I planned to create a beer label design that is more contemporary in contrast to the usual labels we often see on the market. The usual labels tend to adhere to more “masculine” stereotypes such as “manly” advertising and rugged design. Beer consumption is not limited to men, so I intended to make the design universal, contemporary, organic, and playful for everyone.
The problem: Most people tend to stick to alcohol they are familiar with. Why stray and try a different drink when this one is good? After all, don’t we just want the familiar taste? More often than not, they will gravitate towards big name brands. But what if we could convince people to stray from their usual favorites and try our beer? With the use of playful colors and an overall great design, we could convince them that our beer is better.
The audience: Ideally, our potential customer will be someone who is more adventurous with their alcohol preferences. The person will be someone who is younger, perhaps in their twenties and favors and appreciates the design of beer label design.
The approach: Prior to designing the logo and supporting collateral, I did research on Susky River, Rodgers Crossing, as well as beer production, regulations, and label designs. Alongside the extensive research, I created concept mind maps and sketches of the logotype followed by black and white vectors. After numerous critiques and revised comprehensives, the deliverables were finally delivered.
Challenges and Unknowns: As with every beer design, comes the design constraints of having to include the various federal and state beer label text requirements. There will be other text requirements as well, including a barcode and the U.S. Government alcohol consumption warning text that may impose a challenge upon this project, but will be resolved through research. It is required by law for every beer can to be labelled with the aforementioned texts, therefore, there will be many common solutions, such as designing the text in a fashion that complements the overall label design rather than hinders it, that can be done.
