When BRÚ Brewery and Carrig Brewery merged, we were eager to capture the unique brewing spirit of each brewery across our products and branding.
To accomplish this, we developed two separate core ranges to reflect both old favourite and more adventurous styles, resulting in our BRÚ Core and Urban Jungle series. Each collection had its own identity, so it seemed natural to create a different visual concept for each range. It was important that we clearly communicated with customers what to expect from our beers. We recognised that design plays a huge part in why someone might take a chance on something new, whether it’s on the shelf in their local shop or on keg in a bar.
With our BRÚ Core range, we worked with Dublin-based graphic artist, Sandra Coleman at Sans Studio, to develop our new overall look. We wanted to create a bold, modern brand that aligned with our refreshed portfolio of beers. We were updating recipes, focusing on quality and refining our brewing techniques—so it was important to capture the brewery’s new direction in our brand.
We approached Sandra with this very challenge:
Hi Sandra! Please give us a headline summary of you and the work of Sans Studio.
Sans Studio is a graphic design studio specialising in branding and packaging mainly for Irish SMEs in the food and retail sectors and Irish start-ups.
What is the inspiration for the BRÚ brand?
BRÚ Brewery is a truly Irish, entrepreneurial and ambitious business and we wanted to reflect that with a modern take on an Irish brand.
What are your favourite elements of the brand?
The custom typography in the BRÚ Brewery and Urban Jungle logos and the modern illustrations of the Celtic characters were the most enjoyable to work on and we hope they reflect the brand personality.
How have you incorporated the identity of the brewery and beers into your designs?
We injected a more modern, youthful and bold style into the designs to reflect the people and personalities that work at BRÚ Brewery. I believe people are the true brand personality of any business and the crew at BRÚ are an Irish and independent bunch at heart, so we tried to reflect those values. They have also reflected that in their amazing products as well.
How collaborative is the design process between you and the brewery?
All branding projects are an open and transparent process from start to finish. The relationship I have with Dave (Head of Sales at BRÚ) and the team at BRÚ has always been collaborative, creative and very much a two way project. There is certainly a freedom here for both sides to give input and take feedback and I believe in pushing the boundaries so you need that ambition from the client as well as from a design team to create something good. We have also collaborated with another talented illustrator, Paolo Rossetti, for the Urban Jungle range and that has been really great.
What can we look forward to in the future with the brand identity?
We would always strive for refinement and brands are constantly growing and evolving, so we hope to be part of that journey with BRÚ. They have really excellent products and truly genuine people behind this brand so hopefully the fun and hard work will continue into making new designs for many, many new beers to come.
We want to thank Sandra for taking the time to answer these questions, giving us insight into the development of the BRÚ brand and for her hard work throughout this process. Her professionalism and creativity have been vital to achieving a new, modern look to the business. We’re thrilled with our new look and hope you like it as much as we do!
For more information on the BRÚ Core beers, check out our other blogs with tasting notes from Francesco, our Head Brewer:
- Introducing BRÚ Lager
- Introducing BRÚ IPA
- Introducing BRÚ Stout
- Introducing BRÚ Pale Ale
- Introducing BRÚ Red Ale
For more about Sandra Coleman work, visit Sans Studio.
