Beer Bottle Packaging- Angry Angel

The beer bottle packing above is for Angry Angel Beer. What appealed to me about the design of Angry Angel was the one color vintage color scheme. People tend to be visually attracted to very colorful packaging, but in this case Angry Angel's muted tones are done very well. The cartoonish design reminds me of an info-graphic. The typography used in the packaging is a simple condensed san serif typeface that is bold. This bold san serif typeface works very well with the overall design of the beer bottle packaging. I also appreciate how the typeface is white as opposed to black due to being on a dark navy background. This contrast allows for the type to pop off the packaging and be very legible as opposed to blend in and be illegible.

- Maegan Nathan

3D Type in London

This is known as "Songboard London," known as a "multi-sensory interactive installation" according to its website.  The little yellow and black balls allow the public to spin them to change what is being displayed.  People have used this to make words and spread messages.  Many created typographic messages, which makes this a very interesting example of 3D type.  Children and adults alike have used this to make pictures and words.  Students at a local university created this outside King's Cross Station, a major transportation hub in London.  The installation was up from July to September in 2012, but I believe it should have been permanent.  Projects like this allow people to express themselves in a public forum, bringing out the artist in everyone.

Here are links to the official site, and a blog featuring the installation:
http://www.songboardlondon.com
http://collabcubed.com/2012/10/17/song-board-central-saint-martins/

-Franny

Milk Stout Beer

     I took a trip to the Biergarden in Asbury Park and tried different beers. This Milk Stout caught my eye because it tasted like coffee and the label design (of course) so I had to take pictures. First off... there is a cow on the beer which makes no sense, totally random, another reason why I like it. But the typography is curvy using capital and lower case letters throughout giving it movement between the letters. The white type on the royal purple background makes the type stand out. There is a pattern in the background that would clash if the type was a different color. The pattern is curves and entwines overlapping with other lines. My favorite letter is the M because of how the top part does not touch the two vertical lines. The air between the letters is small but is just enough that from far away you can still make out what letter it is. It letters are decorative which continue down to the bottom where the saying is. It is a small point size which fits perfect in line with the length of the cow. Continuing around the bottle, the ingredients and information about the beer is written in sans serif capital letters and bold. Again white type of purple background but it is separated into sections to break down the information. An icon is used to show how to properly drink this beer. The type starts out around 12pts then gets smaller to 7/8pts at bottom. This is one of the first beers I've seen that includes their social media tags. The design is overall beautiful yet playful and yes... it was delicious!

- Alyssa D'Urso

Hand 3D Type

http://www.3dtypographybook.com/2013/02/handmade-type.html

I found this to be an interesting example of 3D type. The artist drew black lines on her hands and proceeded to use the lines in which she drew to create the relation between upper and lower case letters. In some cases she only use one hand while in others she used two and in some instances she even used her arm. This is a different and unique way to display type. The artist made her creation of 3D type to be more interactive rather than something that just hangs on the wall. It is something that was done in the moment and photographed.

Natalie

Montauk Brewing Company

The Montauk Brewing Company utilizes a simple packaging for their beers. Although simple, the design is unique and immediately caught my attention. The use of one bright color along with the text allows for the name of the beer to stand out. The design of each can is also different, for example, the summer ale uses two blue horizontal lines while the driftwood ale uses a yellow X. I also like the layout of the text on the cans. The first line of text is their slogan, "Come As You Are," with two horizontal lines before and after it to add a design element. Below that is their unique logo and below that is Montauk in all caps. Beneath Montauk is a small curved line depicted waves followed by the name of the ale. The last line of text is situated the same way as the top and reads "craft beer 12 fl oz." What I found most interesting about this beer was how it was depicted on their website. If you were to read about their beers, they do not have a real picture of the cans, rather, they have sketches of what the cans look like. I found this to be unique because it is a different way to approach the presentation of their beers and it gives their website an elements that allows them to stand out. The package design of the Montauk Brewing Company is one that is inviting and pleasing to the viewer.  The design also gives the beer a beachy, refreshing feel which is what the creators were aiming for. If I were to see this on the shelf in the store I would most likely pick it up and I am not even a big fan of beer.

http://montaukbrewingco.com/pages/home

Natalie

Beer Bottle Packaging - Carton Brewery

http://cartonbrewing.com
This is a local brewery out of Atlantic Highlands, NJ. This particular brewery is known for coming up with many different flavors of beer. Carton brewery use the color orange a lot for their logos, but would often use red as well. They split the two colors between their pints that come in a can (orange) and the (red) for 12 fl oz. bottles. Carton brewery is also known for their playful cartoon labels that can be seen on the cans and the bottles. They often incorporate colors that would coincide with the flavor of the beer. I feel that the 3d square they use for the flavor of the beer is to much. Just having maybe rectangle the slightly off would be enough. The type that they seem to use is appears to be the widely used Helvetica. Whatever typeface they used, it is a sans serif typeface that is clean and readable especially on the angle. I found that they were very creative with the UPC barcode by making it to look like their Carton logo. Maybe someday I might even try one of the flavors shown.

-Phil

Beer Bottle Packaging - Thirsty Turtle

Thirsty Turtle

http://www.ohbeautifulbeer.com/2011/05/thirsty-turtle/

I tend to be drawn to simplicity just like this packaging because it has a simple logo with a simple san serif typeface and kept a limited color palette. The bottle imitates the same shapes from the logo to the packaging (the turtle on the bottle and the windows in the packaging).This makes it cohesive with the packaging because it With the choice of using black as a dominant color, it looks as if it plays viewer's eyes especially in the type. Since turtles live underwater, with the choice of using the blue for the type, it looks like it is actually water showing through. I thought this beer packaging was really cool. Overall, it has many elements that makes it a very successful packaging.

-Kayla Cusano