Brand Strategy and Design by Mires/Ball and Mother Sponge
San Diego has a vibrant craft brewery scene that produces dozens of innovative, internationally award-winning brews and spirits.
Ballast Point
Mires/Ball Brand Design rebranded the well-respected Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits. They asked me to redraw the sextant and rope elements which they included in their striking redesign of the brand. Below you can see the original logo (left) and the new logo (right.)
All imagery ©1996-2016 MiresBall. All rights reserved.
Mires/Ball created a comprehensive branding strategy that gave the entire product line a fresh, coordinated look from the cans and shipping boxes to drinking glasses and coasters.
Preliminary studies of the sextant included a 3D rendering that was used to study different light/shadow patterns that would occur as you move the light around. Different sextant designs were also explored.
Coronado Brewing Co.
This is another rebranding project overseen by Mires/Ball. Below is the before (left) and after (right) of the Coronado Brewing mermaid, my contribution to the project. Rather than start over, a successful, established brand typically will revise, update and improve on the existing brand elements. A consistent, appealing look contributes to a positive connection with consumers and goes hand in hand, with the quality of the product, to make the business a success.
All imagery ©1996-2016 MiresBall. All rights reserved.
Half Door Brewing Co
Half Door Brewing Co. is a restaurant with an on-location distillery in downtown San Diego. Modeled on a traditional Irish pub which typically has it's own brewery, the front entry is a Dutch door, commonly found in Irish pubs. The branding strategy was created by Mother Sponge. My contribution was the half door illustration.
All imagery ©2013 Mother Sponge. All rights reserved.
Because the historical building that houses the pub is surrounded by skyscrapers, a "little pub in the city" concept was considered in preliminary art as well an ancient tree representing the historical nature of the restaurant concept.
Custom brushes were created in Adobe Illustrator using elements of historical engravings. These were used to create the "wreath of hops" used on the coaster. Stem, hop or leaf can be "drawn" onto the image using different brushes. The engraved depiction of the actual building was built up using elements from historical engravings.
My delivered illustration for the coaster (top) was simplified (bottom) by the designers at Mother Sponge to make it cleaner and easier to decipher.
Malahat Spirits Co.
This is another branding project overseen by Mother Sponge in coordination with the Malahat Spirits design team. My contribution was the illustration of "The Malahat," a rum-running boat that operated up and down the west coast of the United States during the prohibition period.
All imagery ©2013 Mother Sponge. All rights reserved.
As with most projects of this type, a number of different illustration directions were explored.
Mer-Bear Rye IPA
This special edition brew was created by two of San Diego's finest breweries, Coronado Brewing Co. and Bear Republic Brewing Company. The Bear Republic version is described on their website as "a pungent and layered blend of Ella, El Dorado, Equinox, and Azacca dry hops coupled with a whirlpool addition of Buddha’s Hand creating an aromatic explosion, ending with a spicy malt caramel backbone."
Overseen by Mires/Ball Brand Design I was tasked with creating both the "Merbear" illustration and the type treatment.
All imagery ©1996-2016 MiresBall. All rights reserved.
