Who Is Bodaxu Brewery?
Pronounced [Bow-dax-zoo], Bodaxu Brewery is the brand name for a home beer maker in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California. Bodaxu, not only being an extremely unique word, is a combination of the first two letters of the names of my client's three children. My client has future goals to expand the Bodaxu brand to include an ice creamery and a bread bakery besides the current home brewery and local, fresh egg business.
DISCOVERY
In the discovery phase, I provided my client a questionnaire to acquire the company background, goals, and pertinent information to strategize. I followed up with a meeting to assess if I was in sync with my client’s vision. After the interview process, I constructed a mind map of words that best described the company. This is narrowed down to several key terms that became the Bodaxu Brewery vocabulary.
SHAREABLE | APPROACHABLE | CRISP |
CLEAN | MODERN | ARTISANAL
RESEARCH & INSPIRATION
Researched the direct local competitors to evaluate that the craft beer label industry is open to many interpretations. From traditional and classic to modern and vintage retro, designers are not afraid of being too outrageous or unusual. Some use humor with illustrations such as belching beavers while other brands use clean and simplistic label design relying on only typographic elements and color.
I was inspired by the brew shed‘s interior and exterior. The slopped roof is an appealing asymmetrical shape. The hip vibe of the reclaimed wood wall and the concrete bar counter provides a warm and welcoming space. Inspired by bold colors, line art, and unique typography.
Sketches
During initial sketching, I experimented with basic shapes such as the triangle and the five sided house. Each shape could be a different interpretation of his family unit. Another exploration was to craft multiple concepts of the wordmark. The X is important because it is the only letter repeated in all the childrens names and I explored highlighting this letter in the wordmark.
The house graphic was the most successful since it also showcased the place where my client feels the happiest. Home is where his life stems with the ones he loves the most, his family — wife, three children, plus a dog and twenty chickens.
Vector Logo Concepts
Going forward with the direction of the house concept, the sketches were developed into vector artwork. These six iterations were presented to my client. He gravitated to the slanted roof building with the rooster weather vane. It is a visual descriptor of the Bodaxu Brewery location of business.
“Beer cans are officially the new record sleeve”
Beer magazine Caña
FINAL LABEL COMP
The label is 8” x 5” with rounded corners and 1/8” bleed. Instead of the translucent white X in the previous iteration, it is changed to a cut out so you have a clear layer to optimize the silver aluminum material. Same with the thin strip where the mandatories space that my client wanted to be able to hand write in the data. The orange band is expanded to be flush with the bottom edge and mirrors the orange skyline. The Kölsch body copy container has been changed to match the silhouette of the shed.
reflection
Through this process, I learned that I thrive in the research stage. Getting to understand every aspect about my client from his background story to the inner workings of home brewing to the actual printing process of beer labels was an indispensable experience. Designing for Bodaxu was a pleasure. It was a joy to get feedback, collaborate, and implement changes. The biggest challenge was designing a logo and label from scratch. Having endless possibilities can be more of a hindrance but I liked having so much creative freedom for this project.
Outcome
My client has been extremely happy with the final design of the Bodaxu Brewery logo. He has printed it onto hats and beer glasses. He plans to make a metal sign of the logo to display inside his brew shed. The logo will propel the Bodaxu brand into the future of possible expansion into a commercial brewery and other artisanal ventures.
I developed a modern, unique logomark and a beer label that appeals to a target audience of sophisticated beer drinkers who favor caliber craft beer. The artistry of the mosaic shapes of the mountains and sky on the label draw in consumers with my client’s desire for the brand to be sophisticated but approachable. The warm, inviting colors contrasted with the cool greens and blues convey depth of the scenery and highlights the perfect time of the day when to relax, admire the view with your loved ones, and chill with a cold brewski.
“Tammy was absolutely fantastic to work with on the creation of our brand identity. She truly sought to understand who we are, why we do what we do and what personal meaning could be conveyed in the identity she was creating for us. The result was a clear mark that we are proud of, is distinct and we firmly believe represents us.”
Michael Kopcsak, Bodaxu Brewery
credits
hops photo : Markus Spiske/Unsplash
Caña beer magazine quote: Stinson, Liz. (2019, June 11). Why Does Every Beer Look So Cool Now? on AIGA Eye On Design [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/why-does-every-beer-look-look-so-cool-now/
