Hannah and I recently participated in AIGA Charlotte’s Beer & Branding design showcase. The event combines two creative fields: craft beer and design (need we say more?). In collaboration with Noda Brewing Company, AIGA designers were paired with local home brewing clubs to ideate, brew, and design a branding package based on a secret brewing ingredient – lemongrass.

We were introduced to our brewer, Murray, and learned about the 4 cats for which his home brew operation was named (Four Felines Brewery). He told us about his Thai-influenced wheat beer with notes of basil, ginger and of course lemongrass. With the best name ever – “Weit Thai” (literally meaning “Thai Wheat” but pronounced like “White Tie”), of course the label must have a cat wearing a tie.

We started with some sketches, then formalized some of them into more complete options to proposed to Murray and his furry friends.

Our Design Process

The Package Design Winner

Once Murray chose the following design which features a Siamese cat, complete with bow tie and decadent gold embellishments, all that was left was to sit back and enjoy a nice cold brew.

Not a cat person? We’ve got you covered: Why Starting a New Project is Kind of Like Getting a Dog