Today, I want to show you the "map room" of our brand. Behind-the-scenes posts can feel a little exposed, but if we’re going to be transparent, we should start with myself before asking our team to share.
The Setting. My office is tucked away in the historic church rectory, just across the courtyard from the taproom. It’s a space with high ceilings, thick walls, and a history you can feel (plus super drafty windows). It’s where I spend my days surrounded by reference books, a big sound system, and a growing collection of "artifacts" that inspire our labels. It’s a creative studio that feels welcoming and lived-in. We host our weekly internal event meetings here, I'll chat with Bret and Scotty about big ideas, and if you ever get me on a video call, it's usually from this desk.
The "Scrappy" Origins.In the early days, before I had the luxury of this studio, I was working from a desk in my bedroom. The process was... let's call it "purely functional." Most of our original label designs started as pen drawings on standard 20lb printer paper. I didn't even have a scanner back then; I’d just lay the paper on the floor, wait for the light to hit it right, and take a photo with my phone to do some remedial editing in the computer. We made it work and built a brand around getting things done.
The Current Workflow. The answer to how we design things now is usually found in the ancient sink in my office, stained with paint pigment. Here is how a label actually happens:
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The Reference. I start by pulling up images of animals, dinosaurs, people making action poses, or architecture elements on the computer. I’m looking for shapes and arrangements that feel like they belong in our adventuring "Artifact" universe. Usually the name comes first, but sometimes I just have a visual and it needs a home (I'm looking at you, Peristery.)
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The Sketch. On heavy paper stock, I lay down a rough pencil sketch to get the proportions right. Once I’m happy, I ink the lines with a copic marker (a tool I’ve come to swear by). Then, I erase every trace of the pencil. Sometimes I'll go through 5 or 6 of these, but there's not always time to keep honing.
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The "Pre-Viz". Often, I’ll snap a photo of this black-and-white ink drawing and send it to Zach. It gives him a head start on the digital dimensions (and some immediate feedback for me) while I move to the most unpredictable part: the color.
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The Watercolor. I picked up watercolors specifically for Urban Artifact. I’ve always felt that the fluid, bleeding, and vibrant nature of watercolors was the perfect visual metaphor for the fruit we use. It’s a tricky, often sloppy medium. If you rush it, you ruin it. But when a wash of color lands just right, it has a soul and a depth that you simply cannot get by tracing a shape in a computer program.
It's still pretty hard for me, and I don't consider myself an expert in the medium. But the process works.
A painting can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Once the paper is dry, I scan the original on a desktop scanner and hand the digital file over to Zach.
This is where the heavy lifting happens. Zach takes that raw scan and translates it into the "Urban Artifact" language. He works across Photoshop and Illustrator, adapting that single painting to fit a dozen different formats: direct-to-print cans or labels, box cartons, taproom posters, merchandise, tents, and even motion graphics for social media.
Occasionally, we’ll get a request for a custom sign or a new piece of point-of-sale gear that requires us to start the whole "pencil-to-pixel" journey over again from scratch. It’s a lot of work, but we do it because we believe the beer inside the can deserves art that was made with the same level of care.
My Favorites. I don't know if I even should estimate, but we've probably made over a thousand labels and variations since we started in 2015. It's very likely 800 different illustrations of some kind. Far more if you count ever little fruit I've sketched for something, plus signage and iterations for names and logos.
If I had to pick just one, I still think the art I did for the Double Paperweight label has been my favorite of all time. (below)
This Ankylosaurus is a close second.
The back of the new Capy Pack 12-pack carton is pretty amazing.
The Coastalo floating islands have been super fun concept to build around.
A few years ago, I did lots of fun series' of architectural paintings for the Small Batch labels that had train stations, castles, libraries, and landmarks from around the world, and that was definitely something I'd do again and improve upon if the reasons existed.
We have a new project launching shortly that is a distinct evolution in style, but I hope you find it as amazing and fun as I do. I can't wait to share that with you.
Hope this ramble was worth your time!
Urban Artifact
