Olde Hickory Brewery

Olde Hickory is a regional, craft brewery in Hickory North Carolina. I was brought in ahead of their 20th anniversary as the in-house graphic designer to give their brand a fresh look. My first task was to create a new brand identity. The vibe at OHB was retro and classic, people loved classic cars and the brewery has a in-house workshop for an electrician, woodworker, and mechanic. The new brand is inspired heavily by vehicle and machine badges. For the 20th anniversary I used the rings of a tree to create assets for the bottle crowns and North Carolina state illustration.

Scope

Branding

Package Design

Illustration

Brand Assets

Package Design

Part of the rebrand was a complete packaging overhaul with a focus on 6 packs of 12oz bottles. The flagship brands like Ruby Lager and Table Rock Pale Ale needed to be bolder to stand out on grocery store shelves. I chose simple, geometric badges and color schemes so that each brand was easily identifiable with a focus on the beer name or an illustration relating to the beer name. I also gave each of the 6 flagships a short tagline highlighting the beer's "personality." For larger format 22oz and specialty bottles I gave each brand a bold illustration sticking with the simple color schemes and retro feel I had given the overall brand.

Packaging for Packaging

Along with labels, 6 pack carriers and mother cartons were made working with templates and limitations for suppliers and budget. The first few runs of labels were printed with spot colors and the printer limitations didn't allow for complex patterns and colors. 6 pack carriers were printed process so I made more use of gradients and textures while maintaining each brand's identity. For mother cartons, which hold 4 x 6 packs or 12 x 22oz bottles or 24 x 12oz bottles we used a heavy cardboard and spot printing. Our budget allowed us for 2-3 colors per carton so I simplified each brand to it's main color and a shade of that color and used blue to unify them to the Olde Hickory brand.