This content was originally published by The Hop Review, a digital magazine that joined the Hop Culture family in March 2020.
This piece was written by Jack Muldowney.
LOGAN SQUARE, CHICAGO
If you’re familiar with Chicago’s Arcade Brewery (currently brewing in Logan Square’s Ale Syndicate space), you are likely familiar with their approach to their brand. In one word, it’s: fun. The brewery, which began in 2011, is one that does not take itself too seriously, as evidenced with their graphic labels and often 8-bit driven design. However, the seriousness to their brewing/craft is on par with anyone in Chicagoland. So, don’t be fooled by their tongue-in-cheek packaging. Arcade also takes a unique, publicly influenced, approach to their design, by calling on artists to submit their artwork for selection.
The Hop Review asked co-founder Chris Tourre to describe their approach to the brewery’s identity, “Our packaging design is something we certainly like to have a lot of fun with. We’re a collaborative brewery and like to work with other breweries, food producers and artists to inspire the beer we brew. We think beer should be fun on both sides of the glass.”
Their beers are a close collaboration with the artist to create imagery that reflects how both parties envision the beers attributes, “We’re constantly reaching out to new artists to work with and get plenty of artists reaching out to us as well.”
Tourre left us with some final thoughts on the brand, “We’re not always in your face with our logo on things, as we find that to be a bit boring. We see our overall branding as a way to reflect what we love: having fun and being creative through art, community and beer.”
“We think beer should be fun on both sides of the glass.”
“With our 6-Pack stories series, we actually let the comic book artist create the original 6-panel comic book first and then we brew a beer. We are also collaborating with amazing comic book artists and writers to bring label and packaging design to a whole new level of awesomeness. We are currently working with the talented Tony Moore (The Walking Dead), Eisner-nominated writer Jason Aaron (Scalped, Wolverine, PunisherMAX), and various acclaimed graphic artists.
“We also collaborate with our Zapper Tappers, allowing street artists to have free rein designing some of our tap handles. It’s unique and is a fun way to inject an original piece of art into a tap handle lineup”:
“We got all kinds of other fun stuff planned too, so stay tuned. Arcade Brewery…From Conception, To Consumption™”
Thanks to Chris & Lance of Arcade Brewery for providing the images, and the inspiration to their arcade and comic-inspired operation.
Be sure to check out our 2013 interview with them here:
“The Art of Beer with Arcade Brewery”
