Wardrobe Brewing
I have a deep love for the videogame Skyrim. As many players of this game know, mead is a commonly found beverage every Nord loves. It is so important, there is even a questline between two feuding brewers. One Christmas I asked my mom for the Skyrim cookbook. I had intentions of making Sweet Rolls and Horker Stew, but when I turned the pages of the book and came across mead recipes I ran to the store to purchase everything I needed to try brewing some mead of my own!
I thoroughly enjoyed the brewing process, but since I lived in a small one-bedroom apartment, I had little room to place my equipment. In an effort to keep my living space from turning into a brewery, I stored and brewed my mead in a corner of my closet. Eventually, I had more mead than I knew what to do with, so I decided to bottle it and begin gifting it to friends and family. This is where I began to brainstorm how to present these gifts, I needed a label to place on the bottle. I began to create the “brand” Wardrobe Brewing, a call back to how I began brewing this mead in a closet.
Give it a shot.
The logo is based on my zodiac sign, Sagittarius. I wanted the colors for Wardrobe Brewing to reflect nature: deep green like the forest, blue like looking over the sea from a cliff on a foggy day, and a rich yellow to call back to the honey mead is made from.
The slogan “Give it a Shot” has a few meanings. Taking a “shot” of alcohol, the Sagittarius shooting an arrow, and the idea of going after something even if you don’t know how it will turn out. It’s also how I convince my friends to try the mead I made in my bedroom closet when they are a little hesitant. It adds to the inside joke of the brand.
I’m not very familiar with wines, so if I am going to pick one out I gravitate to the ones with interesting bottles or beautiful labels. While imagining my mead on a shelf, I knew I wanted it to be elegant and eye-catching — something that I would pick out while shopping. When I think of elegant and eye-catching, I think of the Art Deco style. This style is what inspired the background of the label.
To contrast the busy background, I kept the front face of the label simple. The typefaces for the name, date, and ingredients were all chosen to relate back to Skyrim. With all of the elegance of the label, I wanted to add in the estimated ABV to remind the drinkers that I am not a seasoned brewer, and I’m still learning how to measure the alcohol content of drinks. It helps to keep the playful hidden-joke nature of the brand while not subtracting from the elegance of the label.
No gift is complete without the card. To continue the elegant theme, I created a branded card to give with each bottle of mead. While creating my logo, I noticed it reminded me of the Polo logo. With this in mind, I pulled inspiration from the stripes that are sometimes on shirts from this designer. Now, when I give a bottle of mead I have a place to hand write a note.
