Deliverables: Anniversary Logo, Event Signage, Merch Design, Packaging
BRIEF
For their ninth anniversary, Holler Brewing Co. approached me looking for a campaign that could carry across every touchpoint of the celebration: social media, posters, merchandise, taproom graphics, and four separate anniversary beer labels. The goal was creating something playful and memorable that still felt true to the personality of the brewery.
SOLUTION
The starting point centered around the number nine. After early discussions, the concept evolved into a cat-themed “Nine Lives” direction: a playful nod not only to the anniversary number, but to the experience of running an independent brewery mirroring a cat’s nine lives: rewarding, unpredictable, exhausting, exciting, and occasionally chaotic.
The central anniversary graphic leaned fully into this concept, weaving the cat directly into the typography itself. The tail curves upward to form the “9,” while the front legs extend downward to create the “LL” inside of Holler. The result gave the campaign a strong centerpiece that could scale easily across merchandise, print, and digital applications.
While each anniversary beer maintained its own distinct personality, the label system used subtle cat references to unify the release as a collection. Open cat mouths became framing devices for the beer names, allowing the labels to feel connected without becoming repetitive.
OUTCOME
The anniversary campaign was embraced immediately by both the brewery staff and Holler’s customer base. Merchandise production was expanded due to confidence in the direction, and the collection ultimately became the first anniversary merch release in the brewery’s history to fully sell out.
THE BEER
For the ninth anniversary special beer releases, the Holler team decide on a more playful palette where each beer label's color matched the name chosen by brewery staff. Each label also includes hand-drawn illustrations of icons and characters associated with the beer's concept.
To tie in the "Nine Lives" concept, I created a central graphic of a cat 's head that acted as a container for the title. While the anniversary event maintained the core theme and palette of the "Nine Lives of Holler" graphic, the more vibrant cans added a splash of color the the brewery's beer fridge.
Niner Niner, Barley Winer
American Barleywine - 9.9%
Ninth Circle
Munich Helles - 4.8%
Pink Panther
Watermelon Gose - 4.8%
Hopstacle Course
Hazy IPA - 6.5%
