Overview
The assignment was to create a re-brand for a brewery. I rebranded Northwoods Brewery, giving them a new logo, value prop, extended seltzer line and created a 16 page booklet about the re-brand.
The brand, Northwoods Brewery, is located in Northwoods, New Hampshire. They are a modern but rustic environment selling draft beer, food, and also bakery items. The purpose for the re-brand is to give them a new logo to better represent what they stand for, along with extending their brand.
Target Audience
A typical buyer persona for their brand would be a 25-30 year old man who loves beer and the wilderness environment. Someone who enjoys drinking with friends, a loved one, or family. A regular beer drinker who loves to try new breweries. The buyer persona could also be toward families, wanting a bite to eat with parents who want a beer.
SWOT Analysis
| STRENGTHS | WEAKNESSES |
| – Variety of beers, flights, cans – Food menu and bakery – Offers a tour – Entertains Live Music | – Small Company – Limited website, but active socials |
| OPPORTUNITIES | THREATS |
| – Seltzer brand extension – New location? – Distribution of sales to liquor stores and markets (NH) | – A lot of breweries in NH and in New England – Need better advertising to beat other places and bring in customers |
Design Process
The rebranding process started with some research of the company on their website and social pages. I looked into their logo, building interior and exterior, current packaging for their cans and any other advertising they have. I also looked into what they sell and have to offer.
When creating the logo, I wanted to incorporate a compass of some sort to signify the “North.” I also wanted to give it a northern look with an idea of mountains or trees. I brainstormed a few different ideas so after my sketches were done I could see what would further work and what wouldn’t with creating them in illustrator. The brewery’s building is a vibrant red color and is a significant icon, so adding that into their logo would help their brand be more recognizable and memorable. I symbolized as the bottom mountain peak to flow with the compass, along with using a bumped stroke line on the bottom half of the compass to symbolize more mountains.
I tried multiple variations when creating logos in illustrator, adding a few color options to them before deciding which direction to go in. My original building for the logo was very flat, so I changed it up by tracing the building from a photograph to have accuracy, and giving my strokes some styles to have its own look to it.
The colors were a difficult choice because I didn’t want anything crazy as they have a red building and a modern/rustic interior look, but I wanted some color for when they advertise without the black and white logo version. I added a red to pop the building and compass and a tinted blue-gray to the background. I also made the linework for the compass brown so it wouldn’t be so bold and dark with a lot of black.
Brand Extension
The brand extension was to design a hard seltzer line for the brewery. I created multiple flavors for the can designs, and a 4-pack box design. I created a gradient of mountains and used a topographic map pattern as a background for the NH company. These package designs for a fictional seltzer line create a relaxing, northern vibe for those enjoying the outdoors lake or mountainside!
