Art for beer: Stanley Donwood’s labels for Up Front Brewing

Up Front Brewing’s new range of craft beers features artwork from long-term Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood – and take inspiration from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick

Stanley Donwood is best known for his prints, paintings and collaborations with Radiohead. Now, his illustrations can be found on a range of craft beers for Glasgow beer label Up Front Brewing.

Up Front Brewing is a new label founded by brewer Jake Griffin. Its beers are named after characters and objects from Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby Dick. Packaging for the brand’s Ishmael IPA, AHAB Stout and gose beer Yojo also take inspiration from Melville’s epic and feature a black-and-white print of a ‘seaborne adventure’ created by Donwood.

Donwood’s print for Up Front Brewing

Freytag Anderson created the monochrome packaging, using a different part of Donwood’s print for each beer. The end result is distinctive – avoiding the traditional clichés associated with craft beer packaging – and guaranteed to stand out on shelves.

Freytag Anderson also updated Up Front’s visual identity to suit the style of Donwood’s print. “The beer names are presented in Block Gothic Extra Condensed – a simple letterpress-inspired font which ties in visually with the linocuts,” explains the studio.

“We also wanted the monotone contrasts of the labelling to be complete. [So] we worked with Up Front’s printers to select an appropriate production method, overprinting the labels with matte varnish for a high-contrast, pleasantly tactile finish.”

 

 

 

Credits:
Design/Art Direction: Freytag Anderson
Illustration: Stanley Donwood
3D visualisations/animation: Render Studio