Upside Dawn

Photo 11 / 4

Photography: athleticbrewing.com. All imagery belongs to its respective owner.

What makes the design work

Athletic Brewing brand study

Visual observations across the brand’s packaging. Individual formats and editions may vary.

Wheat monogram

Italic slab capital about 26% of the wall height, crossed lower-left to upper-right by a wheat stalk, in Trail Navy (#14354d) or Barley Gold on light cans.

Stacked wordmark

Bold condensed capitals directly under the monogram with a smaller 'brewing co.' line, centred and never resized between beers.

Arched claim

'Non-alcoholic brew' and the alcohol limit set on an arc around the shoulder in small condensed capitals.

Reading the label

Full-wrap printed can divided into three bands: brand and claim in the upper half, product box in the middle, illustration in the lower third.

Shoulder: Arched 'non-alcoholic brew' line and alcohol limit
Upper half: Italic A monogram with wheat stalk, stacked condensed wordmark
Middle: Beer name in a coloured box, style in spaced capitals
Lower third: Flat landscape of hills, waves or ridges, with the volume line at the base

Typography & hierarchy

The italic slab A monogram is the largest element, centred in the upper half. The condensed wordmark sits directly beneath it with a smaller 'brewing co.' line. The beer name comes next, framed in a small contrasting box or set large in quotes on seasonals, with the beer style in spaced capitals below; the arched alcohol line at the shoulder and the volume at the base are the quietest text.

Display
Custom italic slab capital, close to Clarendon Bold Italic
Heavy italic slab serif capital used as a single-letter monogram
Uppercase single letter · Bold Italic
Headline
Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No. 20
Bold condensed grotesque
Uppercase · SemiBold, Bold
Label
Trade Gothic Condensed, slab-mono descriptor on some cans
Condensed neutral grotesque
Uppercase · Medium, Bold

Typeface suggestions based on visual similarity. These are not verified font identifications.

How the range holds together

The upper brand block never moves; each beer is coded by a body colour, a landscape scene and a name-box colour, while limited releases replace the landscape with a two-colour split and quoted name, and collaborations take over the whole can with illustration.

Shelf presence

In the cooler, the identical monogram and wordmark line up across every can so the range reads as one brand, while the body colours (teal, cream, coral and yellow, terracotta) separate the beers from a distance.

See the full Athletic Brewing study