An Australian icon of craft beer & independent brewery ownership, the Stone & Wood brand is a staple amongst promiscuous craft consumers.
The brand adopts a monolithic brand architecture approach which relies heavily on colour for key differentiation, with the support of unique ownable naming, an unconventional approach in its day which has created valuable iconic assets such as "Pacific Ale". A strategic on-brand colour palette was devised along with precise technical application to ensure all touch points are consistent and can be reproduced. The scope of this project extends across; 330mL & 500mL labels, cluster 6 packs, cartons, tap decals & badges, various POS and seasonal & promotional packaging.
Fixation Brewing Co is the birth of a new beer brand dedicated to IPA – west coast style. The brand is obsessive, and the visual execution needed to convey these characteristics through both the iconography & visual aesthetic.
The outcome is bold, single minded, expressive, creative, iconic, structured & quirky.
Each element is a bespoke hand crafted piece, even to the point where I created the Fixation typography from duct tape to ensure the essence of the brand values & personality were captured.
James Squire pays homage to Australia’s first brewer, yet with a brand so rich in stories and character
it had become unengaging, dusty,
old and difficult to distinguish
between variants.
The brief was to make visible the underlying personality and energy of the brand, be more accessible to craft beer considers, and make each variant memorable thus easier to navigate
and explore the range.
The solution was to develope a contemporary canvas to leverage the brands rich visual and historical equity. Emotive product names in expressive hand painted typography combined with ink sketched iconography gave the brand an immediacy and freshness for telling the stories of this great Australian larrikin in a way that has
re-contextualised him for today and beyond.
Work conducted whilst at DiDonato Partners.
Cloud Catcher is the indigenous name for Mt Warning, a geographic icon which overlooks Byron Bay & the Northern Rivers.
Cloud Catcher is the first from within Stone & Woods "Beers from our Backyard" range. Brew wise it’s a step up in complexity from their core range which meant a move towards an endorsed Brand Architecture model and label structure. Each brew from within the series focuses on a different geographic feature from within the region – highlighting the brands philosophical approach to the role of their business and how this integrates with their local community & culture.
The sub branded approach meant the dialing up the personality, therefore bespoke hand crafted typography and a graphic illustration depicting the top of Mt Warning were created to create a unique and distinctive sub brand that still feels very much a part of the family.
A seasonal limited release, ForeFathers is an annual collaborative brew project with Stone & Wood and the pioneers of the craft beer movement.
The hand drawn aesthetic provides the important sense of modernity and saw each & every component brought to life using the time honored technique of using a pen, ink & paper... which is to creativity what the Reinheitsgebot is to beer!
A new cider paying homage to the inner child in all of us, Treehouse Cider is first variant to come out of the newly established Granite Belt Cider Company.
Inspired by the wonderful heritage of the fruit crate art of the early 1900’s, the label draws on the quality of produce and community values from this bygone era – a time where your fruit was grown locally and children’s imaginations explored more freely.
Crafted using 100% freshly crushed local Granite Belt apples with no added sugar, concentrates or artificial flavours, it seemed the visual style was a natural fit... see what I did there!
The brief was to create a more visually unified portfolio of products that communicated Schweppes’ unique story with a single voice and to own the other end of the aisle. Our creative objective was to build Master Brand equity across Australia’s largest range of beverages (93 SKU’s) through an identity led approach.
The development of a core asset system and visual language was focused on enhancing visual recognition - it was here that the new ‘Schweppes Glass’ was born.
Symbolic of the Jacob Schweppes crucible of creation, this brand image has become intrinsically linked with the visual identity system and has underpinned all branded communication - bringing to life the ‘Magic of Schweppervescence’ and creating a broad spectrum solution appropriate to a product portfolio of such magnitude.
Work conducted whilst at DiDonato Partners.
Lion Co extended the XXXX Master Brand into a fresh new space and created an offer that captured the imagination of the target audience and redefined the Australian beer landscape.
Launched locally in QLD September 2009, and then nationally in 2010, this release was one of the most significant brand innovations for Lion Co and a milestone in the modernisation of XXXX.
XXXX Summer Bright is a brand that celebrates Australian lifestyle and is brewed specifically for a hot climate. The visual identity is original and hand crafted, inspired by the Australian beach and beach culture aesthetic – informal, warm and unconventional.
Work conducted whilst at DiDonato Partners.
A simple literal symbol for a progressive start up sales & distribution business targeting the craft beverages sector.
The symbol visually articulates the idiom of which the business is attempting to debunk and provide a home for all those brands and products which don’t quite fit... just yet.
The launch of TED 5 Seeds in 2009 marked a milestone moment in Lions history as its first entrant into the cider market. This was an innovation opportunity, which saw the creation of a non-beer brand within the 140 year brewing portfolio - one that offered consumers a fresh, contemporary and high quality offering.
The visual identity and packaging tell a story which illustrates both the functional product benefits and a mythical narrative.
The identity system and packaging is designed to take the drinker on a journey of discovery - it evokes a sense of adventure and mystique and breaks traditional category conventions.
Within 12 months from launch the brand became the No 2 cider in the country representing 18% market share.
Work conducted whilst at DiDonato Partners.
So what do you get when you give the keys of a brewery to a famous musician, celebrity chef and beer obsessed graphic designer – Heartbreaker!
I am so stoked and appreciative to have been invited to join in this rare & selective Mash Collective caper. It was a hoot, a dream come true and I loved every minute of it. Collectively we first brewstormed the idea, a red/amber ale with indigenous spices, then came back to brew it with the team. Meanwhile we agreed on a name so I could get to work and symbolically interweave the sum of our parts into a label design, all of which I simply had to hand paint.
The result is an awesome beer and more importantly, a brilliant life experience shared with wonderful people.
The Limited Edition range is a selection of 300mL Schweppes Classic Mixers that celebrates the enigmatic and innovative spirit of this beautiful and iconic brand.
Working with vintage posters from as far back as the 1920’s, the creative approach needed to be sensitive and respectful to the sentiments and integrity of the original artwork and its creators. Following an intensive visual audit of the Schweppes archives four unique pieces were selected that individually personified the flavour and personality of Australia’s favourite Schweppes mixers.
Work conducted whilst at DiDonato Partners.
Crown Lagers’ position of “Australia’s Finest” premium beer had been eroded over many years of retailer discounting and myths regarding its brewing credentials. To combat this CUB wanted to bring a new “Super Premium” beer to the Australian market that could generate a positive halo effect for the Crown Masterbrand and bring to life the story of the brands inception.
Various territories of generating a Super Premium brand and the Crown Lager story were developed. Significant elements of these territories were then brought together to create the final brand story.
Work conducted whilst at Landor.
