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.
AMSTERDAM, NLD
Brouwerij ‘t IJ is Amsterdam’s largest craft brewer. The brewery with the windmill (the country’s largest wooden version) has been a beacon at the city’s northeast end since 1985. With its ever-growing range of beers (one of which included a collaboration with Chicago’s Marz Community Brewing), the operation has expanded mightily in recent years, part of which included a recent rebrand of their old-world packaging. Their distinct diamond-shaped labels are unmistakeable, and have helped build the brewery’s “quirky, eccentric character.”
Tasked with the redesign was Amsterdam design group, Positivity Branding. Their brief was to transform the range from it’s somewhat home-made look, to a modern system that reflected the quality in the beer inside. And Positivity was said to try and do this “without losing all it’s wonderful quirkiness, and without ‘scaring off the brand’s fanatical followers.'” The result was a beautiful and adaptable system with cleaned up type and a refreshing color palette – all while keeping that iconic shape.
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Label artwork & images from Brouwerij ‘T IJ & PositivityBranding.com
