NEW HOKKAIDO BEER CAN COLLECTION

ILLUSTRATION PROJECT

KUJAKI BONSAI TRIPLE IPA

New Hokkaido is a local Bozeman brewery that sells some of my favorite beers of all time. If you’ve never heard of it, try their Yamobiko Rice Lager, its incredible. Anyways, I think its necessary to mention that I did not create the actual label layout. All of the branding and typography inside of the black boxes were provided by the company. I was only tasked to illustrate a composition in their specific illustration style. All of their labels depict animals or creatures from traditional Japanese folktales. For this label, I illustrated a sacred kujaki (peacock) with its beautiful feathers, enjoying the sunset while nestled on the branches of an obnoxiously large bonsai tree. I absolutely loved every second of this project, another great opportunity to explore Japanese art and their values. This label is a sticker that is placed on a metallic alumnium can. The company requires some aspect of the design to showacse the shimmery surface of the can itself. For this, I chose the clouds to commuicate what is behind the label, what is beyond the horizon. Overall, this compositon is well organized, visually pleasing, and a successful aping of the New Hokkaido illustration style. Hopefully the ficticious Kujaki Bonsai Triple IPA will taste as good as this label looks!   

The Komainu are sacred lion-like creatures from traditional Japanese folktales. Similarly to gargoyles, these beasts are oftenly carved out of stone and placed in front of important buildings to guard them. They are known to always live in pairs and are often referred to as brothers. In this beer label design for the local Bozeman New Hokkaido Brewery, I depicted a fued of two brother Komainu. For this lychee infused rice lager, I chose to use the color palette of the lychee fruit for the koimainu as they float in the contrasting blue sky. An eerie metallic spiral surrounds them as they fight against eachother in the clouds. This design effectively communicates the branding style of New Hokkaido while also showcasing the essence and flavor of the beer itself. Overall, this composition jumps off the shelves and gives the customer a colorful, unique, and historical experience while drinking this lager.