This charming independent brewery started life in one of Amsterdam’s last remaining windmills, but wisely decided against employing its home as a symbol and went for an Ostrich (with egg) instead. It’s a long story but something to do with the similar sound of ‘Ij’ and ‘Ei’ – ask a Dutch person.
I must admit to a tiny twinge of doubt about this superbly executed and ‘authentic’ design. Love it as I do, there was something even more charming about its previous colouring-book bright labels. That said, this label uses shape really well to capture the essence of the brand’s iconography even when all the colour is removed: the diamond, that wacky bird and its egg (inside an egg shape) and beautifully crafted typography…
Digging deeper I discovered that this design is part of a strategic repositioning of the brand – upping the craftsmanship but dropping the naive (if charming) lack of any information hierarchy. Such is the challenge for all designers with a brief to ‘professionalise’ a brand that knows everything about brewing great beer, but less about brand architecture. A great job by Positivity almost up there with my all-time favourite.