Swipe Brewing Co.

beer Beer Branding branding Label Packaging beer mats boxes craft beer

About the project

This is a self-initiated packaging project completed to develop my 3D skills and to improve my existing creative skills.

The goal was to design an eye-catching beer packaging that differentiates from the usual beer packages and resonates not only with people who enjoy drinking beer but also with people who appreciate a nice looking beer label.

Coming up with the name

From the beginning, I knew that I wanted the name of the beer to be something catchy, short, and easy to remember, something to resonate with the design and the message I had in mind.

While I was researching, I found an article that spoke about different words used to describe beer throughout history. The word swipes was on that list, a 19th-century word used to describe weak beer or beer in general. I soon found out that the word swipes have given rise to swipe meaning "to drink in one gulp". Given the multi-meaning of the word swipe, in this case: a strong sweeping blow / to drink in one gulp, I knew that it fitted the vision I had with the packaging, catching your attention like a punch coming at you while also not losing its association with the alcoholic beverage.

Wordmark & Labels

I chose a graffiti-inspired wordmark because of the distinctive feel that it offers. Graffiti's association with personal expression and freedom suits well the main purpose of the whole packaging: Standing out from the crowd. And doing it in a strong, sweeping way.

Since the wordmark represents personal expression and freedom, the beer labels come as a continuation of these two strong messages, further consolidating the message that I wanted to send. The labels are the result of experimenting, freedom of trial and error, and the most important, striving to be different.

If every label is different, it's only obvious that each one of them should have a special name that represents its characteristics, adding another layer of distinctiveness.

Can packaging & Beer mats

I chose a can packaging that consists of only three cans because it allowed me to group the cans based on their predominant color. The package designs were made using spray-paint textures. Thus, the labels, the wordmark, and the packaging are more cohesive.

The beer mats are a nice addition. By replicating the design of the labels onto the beer mats, a sense of completeness was given to the whole packaging.