Kona Brewing Co.
THE CLIENT: Kona Brewing Co., Craft Brew Alliance, Anheuser-Busch | THE TEAM: Flint Design Co.; Catherine Healy, Creative Director; Hogan Johnson, Development Director | THE PARTNERS: Jeff Foster, Illustration; IntroPDX, Copywriting | MY ROLE: Concept Generation, Lead Design, Illustration & Copywriting Art Direction, Print Production, Print Vendor Coordination
As my first major project working at Flint, I was on the ground floor of taking Kona Brewing Co. from being a local Hawaiian craft brewery to being a category challenger on a national level. Full project details coming soon!
I customized the brand alphabet, maintaining the Island flair while adding depth and sophistication.
The refresh elevated the brand to compete with premium imports through a custom bottle design and unique die cut labels, all accentuating the brand’s story of place.
To meet budgetary and operation needs, I worked closely with the OPs team to develop unique die cut labels that could use universal tooling on the bottling line.
The system I developed for unique die cut labels was able to grow with the brand as they added new beers, each one highlighting beautiful landmarks across the Islands.
To elevate the outer packaging elements and strengthen the billboard effect on shelf, my design updates included a seamless plant border that flowed around each package, and from one package to the next.
Bottom panels were inspired by postcards, enhancing the brand’s storytelling and authenticity.
As the brand grew, I successfully translated the complex label imagery to the more limited print capabilities of aluminum cans, never losing sight of delivering a little vacation to consumers.
Variety packs had to balance their own identity with the identity of the beers inside.
Each illustration is based on real locations in Hawaii that inspire the beers and the brand. Working closely with illustrator Jeff Foster, we brought Hawaii to life on package time and time again.
