HP Innovation Journal Special Edition: Retail Transformation | Page 18

Photography by Chad Hunt
Today's innovative label designs tell visual stories about both beers and breweries.
And even with smaller distribution circles, competition is
steep. Think about the last time you went beer shopping
and surveyed that seemingly endless aisle. To stand out,
you can’t just put out decent beer. You need to get people
interested in tasting it.
“On the liquor store shelf, if you have
to choose between two beers that
you've never seen before, I think that
the more attractive label will always
get people to buy in,” says AJ Keirans,
the founder and host of The 16-Oz.
Canvas project, a podcast and web-
site devoted to the art of beer labels.
For breweries who serve draft beer from taps, packaging is
often the only visual opportunity to showcase their brand.
“A lot of breweries are draft-centric,” Herz says. “If you’re
packaging your beer into a can, a bottle, a growler or
a crowler [a 32-ounce can], that’s a place that craft
breweries absolutely do much of their marketing.
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HP Innovation Journal: Retail Transformation
The biggest opportunity to share your story and show-
case your personality, and to stand out, is that beer
package itself.”
WHERE ART MEETS DRAFT
Keith Shore is the Philadelphia-based art director respon-
sible for the visual world of Mikkeller Brewing, based in
Copenhagen. You might have had their beer in the U.S.,
though—perhaps at Citi Field, where the New York Mets
play, or in their regional breweries—and you’ve likely seen
their wacky, Cubism-influenced cans lining store shelves.
“A good label is something that someone would want blown
up and framed on their wall,” Shore says. “I always lean on
loud colors, clunky shapes and friendly faced characters.”
Shore says his colleagues at Mikkeller will give him the
name of the beer and the desired style of the label, and the
rest is up to him.
“We produce upwards of 200 labels each year, so I tend to
go with the gut and dive in deep on the first concept that
hits me,” he says. “A quick pencil sketch, and then the rest
is done in [Adobe] Illustrator.”