The Challenge:
Create compelling beer can labels for an Evil Twin Brewing 2025 release that will push the limits of where the brand currently is while remaining true to the core identity.
Methods:
Researched the company history, core values, brand architecture, and market space, and compiled a future forecasting report of the craft beer industry to create a target consumer profile and better understand the product and its environment.
The Solution:
Produced a new identity system that emphasizes the company values of exploration, innovation, and eccentricity, and will create a more cohesive, recognizable, and distinctive brand aesthetic.
PHASE 01:
RESEARCH
OVERVIEW
CEO
With Evil Twin Brewing NYC, Jeppe set out to make the best beer possible, to change the New York beer scene, and to “show the world that beer can do a lot that has not been done before”.
Jeppe runs his business with a close-knit, collaborative team, closer to a family than a corporate ladder. His mindset is straightforward- that beer is meant to taste good. He treats his brewery like a kitchen, and the results are paying off.
LOCATION
Evil Twin Brewing NYC is located inside a greenhouse designed by designed by architecture firm Kushner Studios. The interior can hold 75 people on stools and wooden picnic tables surrounded by glass and hanging plants, and the outdoor patio can hold 185 people. The location will also feature food trucks, live music, movie screenings, a coffee shop, and soon a cocktail bar. Jeppe wanted the space to be “not only beer nerds sitting here sniffing their beer,” but a casual hangout for a broader clientele where “everyone can come and want to spend money because it’s a cool place to hang”.
With the exception of the architecture, everything within the space was designed by Jeppe and his wife Maria- from the layout and design to the lighting and decor. They wanted to be able to say that it was 100% their place. The intentionality in the design is evident. Jeppe declared, “we want it to be our place, we want it to be exactly how we imagine it”.
People ask, what do you consider yourself? An artist? A chemist? No, I consider myself a cook.
BACKGROUND
Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, pictured left, and his brother, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, are identical twins from Niva, Denmark. The twins, while close growing up, are now estranged. They haven’t spoken since 2010, when Jeppe launched Evil Twin Brewery, which would rival his brother’s Mikkeler Brewery. Both brothers have remained fiercely competitive throughout the years, and have each become titans in the beer world.
Evil Twin Brewing is an extraordinary craft brewery and taproom based in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. It has produced almost 100 beers and sells its products worldwide. It functioned “nomadically” until Jeppe established the permanent location in New York in 2016. Evil Twin is an innovative local microbrewery, known for its boundary pushing creative flavors, bold combinations, and trusty classics.
CONSUMER PROFILE
Jeff is your stereotypical “beer nerd” from Denver, Colorado, who loves finding the best new beers and is picky about what he drinks. He had a brief stint with attempting to make his own beer but now leaves it up to the professionals. Jeff is a regular at Evil Twin and is always first in line to try the new launches. He is rugged and outdoorsy, and always makes sure to pack a couple beers after a long day on the slopes.
Hayes has spent the past three years since graduating college working in finance in NYC. He lives in a Brooklyn loft apartment and has a considerable amount of disposable income. He enjoys exploring the food and art scene of the city and is intentional about his purchases. When the weather gets nice in the Spring, Hayes and his boys will bike between the breweries in Queens, making sure to check in their beers on Untapped.
Robin is a born and bred NYC local. She grew up in Queens, where she still lives with her adopted doberman. Robin heard about the opening of Evil Twin from her neighbor and went to check it out. Now she can often be found enjoying the sun on the Evil Twin patio with her dog and a craft beer in one hand and book in the other.
CURRENT CMF
The current design landscape of Evil Twin is very wide ranging and diverse. They employ a range of colors and don’t have one cohesive brand. The uniting factor across most of their cans is a rectangular label that leaves white borders on the top and bottom and a thin sans serif typeface with the name on the bottom of the label. The company logo does not appear on the front of most of the cans.
Typography: Thin, sans serif, all caps
Material: Aluminum
Finish: Matte
PHASE 02:
DESIGN
SKETCHES
I wanted to rework the Evil Twin Logo because it felt too aggressive, did not seem to match the overall brand aesthetic, and was not particularly unique. I also thought that the devil horn indent in the V was so small that it would be easy to miss and was too ambiguous. It also seemed a bit random and not very intentional.
My logo illustrates two faces simultaneously both looking at each other and straight ahead with the brother’s signature mustaches. I wanted to highlight the brother dynamic in the logo because it is very unique and is part of what makes Evil Twin so memorable.
After finalizing the logomark, I began experimenting with various fonts and configurations for the logotype. It was important that the typeface be bold and distinctive without overpowering the symbol. I wanted this logo to appear on the front of the cans to increase brand recognizability, as currently they do not place any identifier on the front of their cans.
