Raising a toast to beer-lovers and design enthusiasts alike, gestalten releases Craft Beer Design

The new book from the celebrated international publishing house offers a global perspective on the craft beer revolution that is taking the design world by storm.

Date
2 March 2022

You’re in a supermarket looking for beer. Your eyes swim over the rows of tightly-packed cans. The endless sea of silver and green leaves you uninspired. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a can glinting in the middle row and its quirky label intrigues you, flirting with you to spend an extra quid on its contents. Is it the promise of a better beer or those irresistible visuals that makes you grab the can and splash the cash? gestalten’s new book Craft Beer Design has all the answers.

Beer lovers and designers will have much to whet their whistle with here. From suave minimalism to pure wackiness, within the book’s juicy double page spreads, you’ll find a hand-picked selection of packaging designs from 49 of the most innovative microbreweries on the scene. The avid IPA fan and graphic designer Peter Monrad, has collaborated with gestalten to curate the collection, interviewing designers who are “leading the way in modern packaging design”, says gestalten. Through exclusive interviews, you’ll get a sneak peek at their creative influences, the design processes behind their favourite labels, and the role played by branding in the success of each brand. As Peter says in the opening pages of the book: “Without these artists, we probably wouldn’t drink as much, and what is more, probably wouldn't enjoy it in the same way.”

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Craft Beer Design cover

gestalten is well known for getting ahead of the game at spotting innovative design trends in the creative world. Their recent publications have showcased creativity from the cannabis industry all the way through to the unstoppable movement of food-styling on social media. Now, as the publishing house explains, Craft Beer Design, “finally brings a global perspective” on the design movement which is flourishing parallel to the heaps of microbreweries that we have seen “spring up like mushrooms” around the world.

Just a few decades ago, if you’d asked the boss of a small brewery: “How would you describe your visual style?” you might have received some blank looks. You wouldn't have expected the prompt answer: “referential, inconsistent, idiosyncratic and slightly eccentric” as TO ØL offers. Nor would you expect them to explain that their branding broaches “sensitive topics in the stories behind our beers” – a contribution from Mothership Brewery.

Such has been the effect of the craft beer revolution, a phenomenon that has taken the design world by storm. Now you can ogle some of its best moments, hearing directly from the hop-mad creatives themselves. So, taking a cue from gestalten, “let’s delight in all these fantastic-looking breweries - and what better way to do it than to open a beer and dive right into their amazing designs.”

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by Diane Barbu, photo courtesy of Hop Hooligans

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by Underline Studio, photo courtesy of Daniel Ehrenworth

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by Diane Barbu, photo courtesy of Hop Hooligans

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by Balter and Lachie Goldsworthy, photo courtesy of Ben Trueman

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by Amy Haselden, photo courtesy of Stefan Melbourne

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by James Yeo, photo courtesy of Sam Beasor

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by ÉricChouteau/SansCravate, photo courtesy of Des Cantons

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Craft Beer Design cover

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gestalten

gestalten is an international publishing house engaging with the world’s most interesting creatives documenting vital movements across architecture, interiors, design, fashion, escape, visual culture, food and beverage. gestalten is loved around the globe for its unique lens across print and digital mediums.

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gestalten: Craft Beer Design, 2022, Design by Neale Payling, photo courtesy of Neale Payling

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