We created the brand identity and packaging for Good Things Brewing, a new Sussex-based company with the goal of building the world’s most sustainable brewery. The company target is to be completely energy efficient, off-grid with everything recycled and reused — from water to grain.

The founder and creative lead of Good Things Brewing Co., Sam Robinson, said, “The way beer is brewed is really inefficient. And in the UK, we brew a lot of beer. A lot. Raw ingredients are shipped in from all over the world, leftover grain is recycled inefficiently, and huge amounts of energy and water are wasted. Our planet simply can’t sustain it.”

Sam was inspired to create the brand after learning about the environmental impact of the beer-making process and the lack of public knowledge of this outside the brewing industry. Even the brewery’s spent grain is dried and milled so that it can be reused to make flour. Sam commented, “We’ve designed the world’s first low-energy, large-scale, solar-powered dehydrator to dry and mill our spent grain. We then mill it using a traditional stone mill to produce incredible wholemeal flour, putting this otherwise wasted ingredient to deliciously good use.”

On the visual identity, Sam goes on to explain, “It was important that our branding break the traditional craft beer aesthetic. We crucially wanted to move away from the ‘skater’ graphics and boys’ club feeling, and create something more closely linked to the natural world, importantly appealing to both men and women.”

In answer to the brief, we created a core icon that conveys the brand’s products, combined with a feeling of nature and peace. A linear, graphically styled bird, whose tail feathers mimic an ear of barley, is used boldly across each of the variants. This is paired with a soft colour palette on a textured matt paper label for a natural and tactile feeling in the hand.

As part of the brand’s offer to spread the good word, Good Things Brewing also creates bespoke brews for other brands or events. So an important part of our task when considering the packaging and branding was how to give the collaborative edition cans their own personality, whilst still being clearly identifiable as part of the Good Things brand. The solution is a double faced can, one side of which is dedicated to an icon that represents the third-party brand or event.

We considered the brand holistically, ensuring they tell their story in a way that’s as sustainable as possible. Wooden bar pump badges give a unique and natural look in bars, and the brand book is single colour, printed by Chris Chadbon Printing on recycled paper using vegetable-based ink and an eco-printing press.

And whilst fully recyclable, we hope the beautiful monochromatic design encourages readers to spread Good Things and pass it on.

We brought to life some rather startling statistics in the illustrative brand deck, such as, “It takes 94 trees a day to absorb the carbon footprint of just one pint, and the UK beer industry produces 2.16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. That’s like driving a double-decker bus around the world 108,121 times.” Good reason enough to make some big changes to the brewing industry.

More from Horse.

UK children’s charity, the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has launched their first rebrand in 12 years.

The charity, which works across the issues affecting children to influence policy and deliver a better childhood for the UK, approached us to help tell its story with renewed clarity.

NCB’s role has never been more important. Years of austerity have seen funding for children’s services and education cut by local authorities and central government while the demand for support has increased. In this climate, the charity wanted to refocus how it articulates its impact.

NCB’s strapline “United for a better childhood” was the springboard for evolving the story. The charity was doing a great job talking about how it was united internally, across its family of brands, but there was so much more it was doing for external partners. From parents and children, to central government and other partners, NCB brings together the people and organisations who bring about the best for our children.

This truth informed a playful tone of voice, with headlines including “From the playground to Parliament” and “From the staff room to the select committee” capturing the breadth of NCB’s impact and delivering a clearer message for funding sources.

Visually, the challenge was to deliver a brand identity system that could flex for such a wide range of audiences – from a pre-schooler to the Prime Minister — also flexing from issues as sensitive as childhood bereavement, to celebrating successes in childhood and teaching.

The logo captures the very essence of “United for a better childhood.” It’s a star, a jumping figure, an upwards arrow – the symbol provides a refreshed energy and sense of optimism.

The colourful shapes that inform the logo are also used throughout the rest of the look and feel, reinforcing the concept of working together and creating positive, long-lasting change.

We also created an illustrated typeface to build on the concept of unity. This is combined with an illustration style that enables the charity to communicate complex issues in a simple and intelligent way, now and into the future.

Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, was closely involved in brand refresh:

“For more than 50 years, the National Children’s Bureau has worked to champion the rights of children and young people in the UK. In 2019, we started work in a new office, so we decided it prudent to update our brand and look forward to the next chapter of our work. The brand re-design was achieved using our business-as-usual communications budget, with much of the work implemented by our hardworking in-house communications team. The new look is an exciting improvement, and applying the brand as we moved into our new office space in East London, has helped keep costs down to a minimum, while emphasising a new era in NCB’s long history.”

We worked with the charity’s internal marketing team to help launch the identity across applications including brand guidelines, office graphics, and a new website.

Lantern elsewhere on Identity Designed: Primal Roots.

Formerly Jona Hoad Design, Hoad & More create lighting, among other things. They build installations as well as products and are as passionate about thinking and dreaming as they are about making and implementing. We renamed the company as well as creating a new identity and website. The name “Hoad & More” not only reflects their collaborative way of working, it also speaks of the varied nature of their projects, from beautiful light switches to large scale chandeliers.

As they are natural collaborators we created an ampersand at the heart of the logo and used “& More” as a suffix on items such as business cards.

The ampersand also gives Hoad & More a distinctive shorthand logo that’s used editorially and as a maker’s mark. A special cut of Circular was created by Lineto that incorporated the ampersand into the font.

As part of the rebrand we also created a new website which shows more of the journey from sketches to the finished pieces. The homepage is deliberately explorative, so there is an element of ‘& more’ as you rollover the words, revealing short films and imagery. The series of short films show snippets of the life of the studio, people, workshops, moquettes & more.

Stationery was printed on a deliberately varied selection of stocks, again to represent Hoad & More’s explorative use of materials. All elements are foil blocked in a matt white foil.

Collaborators, suppliers, and materials

• All papers from GF Smith (Gmund Treasury “Tradition” / Colorplan “Real Grey” with Morocco embossing / Marlmarque “Grecian Tan” / Plike “Dark Blue”)
• Stationery printed by IST
• Copywriting by Reed Words
• Web development by Neal Fletcher at Cliff Studio
• Films by Lindsay Knight
• Photography by Tim Smyth

Dutchscot elsewhere on Identity Designed: Issho.

Competing in a saturated snack bar market, we developed a strategy for Byte Bars that subverts stereotypical “crunchy granola” aesthetics. The outcome is a brand that appeals to a younger generation with a bold identity and light-hearted irreverence.

Visual identity

Representing a cross-generational, free-spirited vibe, the shapes of the type and icons are influenced by the groovy 1960s and the vivid color palette is drawn from the electric poppiness of the 80s and early 90s.

Playing off of the brand name, we developed a series of mouth icons of varying detail. Combined with an extensive color palette, the dozens of potential icons allow Byte to give each bar their own look and keep the brand fresh.

Packaging

For Byte’s retail boxes, we used Neenah Paper’s Folding Board 100 PC White, a 100% PCW recycled stock. For Byte’s t-shirts, we spec’d water-based ink which is a superior choice over conventional plastisol ink both for the environment and for the quality of the print.

The plight of plastic is especially grim when it comes to flexible film substrates (the method by which snack bars, among many other foods, are packaged). Conventional plastic films are comprised of multiple materials which are laminated together. This process creates lightweight, inexpensive, highly functional substrates, however, these films cannot be recycled in conventional curbside recycling streams due to their multi-material makeup. At the time of publishing this case study, there are no compostable flexible films that offer the same stability and barrier protection of a conventional film structure. If you know of one, let us know.

Cast Iron Design elsewhere on Identity Designed: Roger the Barber

Taking inspiration from the unique Vietnamese street culture, Guta Cafe is growing into a familiar coffee brand where urban people can connect and enjoy the outdoor environment. Focusing on a responsive and affordable store setup, Guta have grown fast, dominated Saigon, and become one of the most popular coffee chains in the city.

Guta is Vietnamese slang taken from “gout /gu/” in French and “ta” in Vietnamese, which together stand for the term “our style.” This represents Guta’s brand spirit, proud to serve a good, strong Vietnamese coffee. Street coffee has become a fundamental habit, not just in Saigon, but throughout Vietnam. Beneath the habitual culture there’s always a “plastic chair,” small and convenient for setting up small coffee shops anywhere.

The graphic system is dominated by the iconic chair, combined with various surrounding environmental elements and people behaviours. Together they create a unique style for Guta that echos the brand’s origins.

Inspired by the iconic Vietnam Social Security propaganda poster that hangs everywhere around the country, the blue and yellow palette was adapted for Guta. Just like the poster’s slogan, the colour choice represents the idea of “a friend of every worker.”

People who love street coffee usually kickstart their day by sitting on a plastic chair, somewhere shady, surrounded by greenery, with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. The halftone print effect of newspapers adds a distinctive look to the various characters we depicted sitting on chairs, from office workers to lady hawkers.

Every character was carefully selected to represent a wide range of customers — young, old, blue collar, white collar. Each character has a unique pose that expresses their personalities and broadens the identity elements. The visuals and colour palette creating a unique yet consistent brand expression that’s easily adapted for various marketing purposes.

Featuring the chair and Vietnamese diacritical marks, we developed a custom font named after Guta — FONTA (our font). After this rebrand, Guta has grown from several stores to nearly 60 stores around Saigon, launching new sub-brands such as PHỞTA (Phở noodle) and CHỢTA (convenient local store).

We also gave the menus a fresh appearance (both in-store and takeaway).

For comfort and functionality when serving outdoors in humid, sunny weather, the uniform was designed with a minimal, basic, light T-shirt and shorts. For subtle differentiation there’s an upside-down pocket detail that hints at the A-chair symbol.

To help with marketing we created a wide range of branded goods such as a keychain tag, phone case, socks, helmet, tumbler, lunchbox, and even a lighter.

M — N Associates elsewhere on Identity Designed: JUS.

Buddy Buddy is a nut butter brand located in Belgium. For this identity we were looking to transmit a youthful vibe, while being a bit playful.

The concept is a nod to the best company you can have, being with yourself; which is represented through the repetition and reflections in the icon and logo. The illustrations show the idea of “Me Time” through the different moments of sharing and enjoying special moments with Buddy Buddy products, all with a sense of humour and youthful vibe.

For the visual identity we chose an eye-catching, modern and friendly colour palette. Neutral tones are contrasted with various pops of colour that are used throughout the graphic system to differentiate the product range. This was complemented with ocher tones and golden finishes for a premium essence. The editorial uses a grotesk typography to make the brand feel premium and contemporary, but balancing the youthful and playful side of the brand with lowercases.

Buddy Buddy, the best company you can have is being with yourself.

More from Futura.

When this home decor brand speaks, it says “let’s decorate.”

Just launched, we have been working with an ambitious duo to craft a brand experience and identity that is educational and inclusive. An industry disrupter, Lick Home came to us poised to take traditional home decorating online.

Being a direct-to-consumer brand, it was imperative that the outcome was built with a personality that could connect with the end-user from the beginning of brand engagement.

Our primary challenge was to craft a brand that was as aspirational as legacy paint brands, but that also connected with a more youthful audience. Our secondary challenge was to create a brand with elements that complemented a “colourful” product, rather than overpowering or causing colour theory distortion.

Through a blend of secondary industry, primary stakeholder research and extensive communications strategy, we identified an opportunity for Lick’s products to do the talking; both expressively and functionally, depending on the medium.

Which meant that tools and products took on utilitarian labelling with instructions and product codes respectively. And, the more inspirational imagery and campaign assets took on more characterful language further developing the personality of the product.

The graphic outcome challenged existing brands with a “louder” word mark to aid the recognisability of a new-to-market brand. And, throughout all the art direction, the tone has been varied for subject matter. But, always with an accessible and “lived-in” feeling, as not to ostracise all kinds of “decorators;” from novices to naturals.

More from Two Times Elliott.

Tamarind of Mayfair was the first Indian restaurant in London to receive a Michelin star. They wanted to continue to explore new ground with a new menu, interiors, and brand that was light and feminine.

We worked closely with interior designers Sagrada, who we have collaborated with on many projects.

A “floral” visual language was created, loosely inspired by the holi festival and smoke from the tandoor. We commissioned and art directed John Ross on the photography of the “powder flowers.” John had done a few shoots like this but always on black and only an abstract explosion, not multiple colours creating a “form.” Changing the background from black to white had more issues than you can imagine — basically a one-day shoot turned into four and it was very messy! We then had a fair amount of help from our friends at Smoke & Mirrors on the retouching. It became a labour of love for all of us and we were delighted with the results.

Interior designers Sagrada had a subtle floral theme running throughout, from organic, curving floorboards, to botanical fabrics and wild flowers along the glazed entrance.

Flower stem inspired patterns were used on menus and informed typographic layouts including the tasting menu and business cards. The logo and typeface reflected the thicks and thins of flower stems. Menus used tactile materials and were a smaller format to reflect the light touch of the new cuisine. The brand “flowers” were printed onto a translucent material which took inspiration from steamy conservatories.

The website interpreted the tactility and materiality of the printed items through soft colour fades and images gently going in and out of focus. We commissioned a suite of interior and food photography as well as the copywriting which all imbued the light and delicate quality of the surroundings.

“Flower” imagery: John Ross
Retouching: Smoke & Mirrors
Print: Boss (business cards by Generation Press)
Website programming: Neal Fletcher
Interiors & food photography: Yuki Sugiura
Copywriting: Nick Asbury

Dutchscot elsewhere on ID: Meraki.

Brigade Court is a residential development at the former headquarters of the London Fire Brigade. The Grade II listed building was one of the capital’s first ever fire stations where the firefighters lived and trained.

Located in Borough, the new development features period conversions in the original Victorian building, as well as many new-build apartments. The visual identity, name and marketing communications needed to sell both parts of the development and create standout in a saturated corporate market. The target audience was both Londoners and international investors.

The juxtaposition of heritage and cutting-edge architecture informed the brand idea: “Traditionally Different,” celebrating the distinctive contrasts of the development. Archival photographs of the original fire station and the firefighters align with images of the new apartments and local area – creating a series of collages that convey the site’s distinctive marriage of old and new, with a sense of local neighbourhood personality.

The relationship between past and present runs throughout the typography and messaging of the brand through the use of the elegant serif GT Super, alongside the more robust and modern Calibre. The brand colour palette was inspired by the traditional navy uniforms and brass helmets worn by the brigade in its early years.

On the property and floor-plan brochures, each cover features an icon of the original fire station wrapped around the front and back alongside a gold foil statement of the key selling points.

The in-house amenities borrow their names from areas within the original fire station. The gym is named “The Training Yard” and the cinema became “The Watch House.”

The Brigade Court marketing suite features a café deli named “The Mess Hall,” featuring light-hearted image combinations of firefighters appearing to prepare and serve food, mounted in custom-made brass frames. In addition, iconic fire brigade equipment is championed on the graphic window displays.

Typefaces:
GT Super – Grilli Type
Calibre – Klim

Brochure paper stock:
Cover: Colorplan Bright White with Linen Emboss
Text: Marazian Ultra
Print: Gavin Martin Colournet

Jack Renwick Studio elsewhere on ID: Carpenters Wharf.

Design Pasar is a festival that we created and organised in collaboration with Roger&Sons and The General Co. We all moved into a new warehouse building in the industrial part of Singapore Jalan Besar where many of the traditional hardware businesses reside. The festival is about bringing design, craft, and arts to all our neighbours in the community. It is inspired by and adapted from the traditional Pasar Malams (Malay word: Pasar means market; Malam means night which are often seen popping up in Singapore neighbourhoods.

Design Pasar hopes to elevate the neighbourhood experience, allowing the general public to have greater access to affordable design and locally-designed and locally-made goods, arts, and music. The theme for this edition of the festival is about sticking together as a community. It also pays tribute to Singapore National Day and celebrates how far Singapore has come with a thriving and growing creative industry and community. The brand visual identity takes its cue from the shapes of objects found in this hardware industry dominant neighbourhood. These shapes are designed so that anyone can create and design their own tote bag or poster with these stickers — an analogy of the mission of Design Pasar, which is to get everyone to be creative and to participate in design.

Foreign Policy elsewhere on ID: Dumpling Darlings.