The craft beer landscape is a complex and competitive market. Family-owned craft brewery, Czig Meister, needed a strategy that would elevate their existing branding and establish a highly effective packaging methodology to uniquely position their extensive craft beer offerings in an organized and intentional way.
A strategic framework established an ownable ‘Brand Expression’ and positioning for the brewery, leveraging key attributes and differentiators unique to Czig Meister. The strategy development process involved analyzing industry & category trends, target consumer & customer behaviors, and national & local competitors. Identifying commonalities among Czig’s Target Audiences was pivotal to ensure an inclusive brand experience.
To organize the brewery’s robust portfolio of craft beers and seltzers, a comprehensive audit of Czig’s offerings encompassed a holistic review of their beer types, styles, series, flavors, and names. A packaging methodology was developed to establish a hierarchical structure, streamline on-pack communications, and segment each unique series in a way that consumers would recognize and remember.
Moodboards and inspirational images provided visual direction for each series and opportunity to align on design early in the process before executing packaging concepts for Czig’s Flagship Series. The moodboards depicted typography, photography & illustration styles, color palettes, patterns, and iconography to show how each series would be distinct and also maintain certain brand and stylistic consistencies.
Leveraging the portfolio audit and visual moodboards, a range of concepts were developed for Czig Meister’s Flagship Series of staple beers. Named after Old World crafts & trades, each variety within the series was designed to illustrate the story of each beer and draw emphasis to the Czig Meister logo for increased brand recognition.
The Flagship Series redesign encompassed 6 varieties and put equal focus on the Czig Meister brand & the Old Word craft or trade that each beer was named after. Tailored graphics and copywriting elevated the quality, complexity, and artistry of the Flagship Series, creating experiences for consumers to learn and sip at the same time.
Czig Meister’s Sundial Series, Deep Sea Series, Abyss Series, and Seasonal selections were also redesigned following the established framework of the portfolio audit and moodboards. Custom illustrations corresponded with each series for a memorable and distinct aesthetic while varieties with unique flavor profiles were expressed through vibrant color palettes.
Graphics from the packaging redesign were brought to life on branded merchandise, allowing fans to express their loyalty to their favorite Czig Meister beers.
Creative Direction, Strategy Development, Brand Audit / Analysis, Design, Illustration, Director of Photography
Created while employed at BrandFirst Creative Agency. Rights to this design are owned by Czig Meister Brewing Company. The artwork featured in this portfolio is for personal use only and is not intended to promote any product, brand, or service, or infringe on trademarks and copyrights.