I've been one of the principal art directors for new product development at Lagunitas for the past few years, taking Lagunitas brewers' world-class creations and packaging them up for refrigerators around the country, the world (and beyond?)!

It all starts with a test batch or a concept, both broad (IPA) to specific (7.7ish% ABV Tropical IPA with Mangoes & Mosaic Hops).

From there, we start the formidable process of naming the beers. Lagunitas takes a very specific approach to naming their beers (which is easier to explain in person), but the end result should be something that speaks to the contents of the beer directly (e.g. Mozango = Mosaic & Mango) while also relaying a feeling or experience about the beer itself (Mozango is a tropical sounding name).

After we nail down the name, we'll work with our in-house design team or reach out to some friends we've met along the way to crank out the design. We send along the name, mood boards, and specific design ideas, and hone and tweak until we have the finished product.

Once we have the final product, I'll take a lap and type out a few options for label copy. These little vignettes are inspired by many things... from elements of the process of creating the beer that occurred along the way, to what I would want to read when cracking open the beer, to something interesting that happened that day that maybe-sort-of relates somehow to the overall grand idea of beer making. Or not. Whatever.

The most challenging (and most rewarding) component of designing a Lagunitas beer is hard to describe as it is purely qualitative vs. quantitative: it has to look and sound like a Lagunitas beer. Or, to borrow some words from former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it.

Here are some designs I've had the good fortune to create or direct along the way:

Vibe: Mozango sounds tropicalian, but it also sounds like a mysterious name, a call to action, or exclamation, so we wanted to lean into that name big and bold. With its mysteriosity, we looked to old Film Noir posters and Russian Cold War propaganda for inspiration. We also wanted to visually fade between a hop and a mango to elucidate the special ingredients in this beer.

Design: The incredible Jordan Wilson.

Label text: In the spirit of the propaganda-esque visuals, we hoped to speak a bit to the behind-the-scenes service-members of the craft beer industry on the label, tying it into the growth of a mango...

Vibe: To confound the special relationship between the two industry friends, we liked the idea of twisting a tale of a secret intention behind the beer other than the simple act of collaborating. With that, we wanted to bring in symbols and arrangement of old monastic orders to reinforce this hidden meaning, as well as incorporate some of Moonlight Brewing's visual elements (clouds & fonts).

Design: The incomparable Jordan Wilson.

Vibe: When directing this design, I kept imagining Cherry Jane as a character in a Shel Silverstein short story, so we focused in on the retro, nostalgic design elements from the 60s and 70s (as seen on the design on the left), as well as further back to Art Deco for a more classic look (like the design on the right)

Design: In-house

Label text: Because of the Shel Silverstein connection, I dove in...

Vibe: Many of the Lagunitas designs come naturally from the name, and Hazy Memory is no exception. We were looking for a trip-in-a-can, 70s-black-light-poster-ish designs, while still standing out, being readable, and looking like a Lagunitas beer. With further intentions to make more hazy offerings, these elements would serve as the structure for Lagunitas hazy beers to come.

Design: The inimitable Jordan Wilson.

Vibe: NightPils is an example of a working title becoming the front-runner, mostly because it was the best way to describe the beer in theory and in reality. When the name was solidified, it allowed us to play within our own house of design and mess around with existing brands in a way that we don't normally get to, which was a rewarding challenge.

Design: In-house.

Label text: NightPils copy was very conceptual, as I had to keep the visual element of the torn paper consistent in the story. There was quite a bit of Frankenstein-ing between the two stories to get it to loosely work, but this is where it ended up...

Design: My first solo label!

Label text: Keeping consistent with the name, I wanted to unwrap as many adages and aphorisms I could think of and tie them back together as best or worst as I could, resulting in one of the most challenging and entertaining copy projects I've worked on to date...

Vibe: The name 'Phase Change' came from an innocent moment during dinner preparation in which I was trying to hurry a watched boiling pot, but it applied perfectly to an as-of-then unnamed beer utilizing a proprietary Seasonally Unexpected wet-hopping process. With the scientific slant, there was a natural tie-in to music (specifically 70s phaser pedals) that brought this label to fruition.

Design: The amazing Jordan Wilson.