CLIENT: Design Research & Writing Exhibition Project
The proposed exhibition project, “Craft Beer by Design,” is an information system, built of both a book and a pair of infographics. Inspired by my love of craft beer and local art, it covers the history of beer, how craft beer came to be, and the important role that design plays in keeping craft relevant and popular today, namely via the creation of localism.
The left infographic details what makes up a beer, its two main distinctions: ales and lagers, and covers the history of how beer spread from ancient Mesopotamia around 10,000 BCE to the birth of the craft beer era in 1976.
The right infographic demonstrates the role that design plays in the popularity of craft brewing today, by creating a feeling of localism. Commonly seen design focuses are divided into five main categories with case-studies specific to Minnesota: history, legend, landmark, wildlife, and climate.
All content for the infographics is pulled from this book, which I researched, wrote, and designed. It consists of three main sections: World History, Beer in America, and The Craft Beer Movement—the last of which includes an analysis of neolocalism in packaging by Minnesota craft breweries 612Brew & Lift Bridge Brewing Co.
The below sets of icons were designed for use on the infographics. Where appropriate, they appear within the book as well. Offering a quick visual read of the more in-depth content included, the icons help viewers easily digest larger chunks of text that may be otherwise skimmed over.
The above icons mark important hits on the timeline following beer from its early history in ancient Mesopotamia around 10,000 BCE to the birth of the craft beer era in 1976.
These icons help provide a visual representation of beer’s four main ingredients and the five categories of design in creating localism. Some are featured underneath particular hits on the timeline, and offer a quick read of some of the more detailed information included, like the introductions of advertising or pasteurization to the world of brewing.