Rebranding Nashville’s Favorite Daughter
Bearded Iris Brewing Co.
NASHVILLE, TN
Founded by friends, Kavon Togrye, Paul Vaughn and Matt Miller, Bearded Iris Brewing Co. has carved out both a local and national reputation. Locally, they are known as the brewers of Homestyle - a welcoming 6% oated Mosaic IPA so pervasive in the state, it can be seen from the lakeside to the finest steak houses in the state's capitol. Nationally, their hazy IPAs are in high demand. Modern hop fans from both coasts swap their own iconic favorites by mail with residents of Tennessee to get their tastebuds on BIBCO's cutting edge flavors and premium ingredients.
We began the process by leading a strategic survey of Bearded Iris' history, story and identity. But even more crucial was where they wanted to go. The founders take most of their inspiration from the lifestyle brands of which they are fans: Asics and Adidas, Beats by Dre and Supreme.
The existing, roughly-sketched iris mark did not convey anything about who they were, and didn't serve the iconic function that marks from other lifestyle brands do. Their loosely-nouveau typefaces weren't setting the right tone, either.
The watchwords we used throughout the whole project were "Less is way, way more." - evidenced by the streamlined packaging for Homestyle, the first of several year-round products BIBCO will release in the coming years. Herb Lubalin, designer of the famed Asics Tiger logo we all loved so much, designed almost all of the typefaces we elected to use for the brand. Staying true to style was key.
SERVICES
Brand Strategy
Packaging Design
Logos, Iconography + Lettering
Identity System
CREDITS
Creative Director + Identity Design: Joshua Berman
Lettering: Jud Lively
Photography: BIBCO + Anna Togrye
“Joshua Berman is a consummate professional, which is demonstrated in both his process and his work. He has an amazing ability to navigate the challenging waters of brand strategy, while faithfully guiding his clients through a deeper understanding of their core values, and how to best communicate those values through branding. Josh’s strategic process cuts through the morass and uncertainty of our client’s current brand strategies and replaces it with team cohesion, excitement, and confidence in the new direction.”
Homestyle
In addition to a freshly realized brand mark and custom logotype developed by Joshua Berman, the art director of the project, he also designed what looks to become the most signature addition to the brand - the packaging for their flagship product Homestyle. Exemplifying their new, minimal ethos, the sleek design cuts through an illustration-and-filigree-heavy southern beer scene, and the gold top reinforces the premium nature of the product.
HOMESTYLE PRODUCT LAUNCH - SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Over 1K likes in less than 24 hours
Experimental Series
The secondary packaging also proved to be a valuable place to tell the brand story. Bearded Iris puts out a new packaged product at least once every other week, so the labeled cans become immediate content for a robust social media presence.
A heroic, white iris icon is featured in exactly the same size and location as on the Homestyle can, allowing for even more immediate recognition on the shelf. There is a standard "template" on which these product labels are based, but the design allows for significant flexibility - from the most simple (when something needs to turn around quickly) to the most intricate.
