As O/O Brewing’s business has grown, so has its export to new markets. Having established a solid reputation in countries across Europe and Asia, the demand for O/O’s beers abroad has grown rapidly. With new customers, many who haven’t followed the brewery’s journey from the start, the need for a more focused and consistent approach to the labelling became apparent. In tandem with increasing levels of export, O/O has made a switch from bottles to cans for many, if not most, of their beers. This shift makes sense for many reasons; it keeps the beer fresh for longer by minimising its exposure to oxygen, it allows for much more efficient shipping and it makes a smaller, overall impact on the environment. The introduction of cans as the primary packaging further emphasised the need to rethink the labelling, which was previously designed primarily with the predominantly used bottle in mind.
The new label system is built around a clear, modular architecture for the information, with a prominent black stripe that holds the name of the beer. The stripe sits below the O/O monogram, and is flanked by information about the beer, recycling symbols and the EAN-code. The majority of the labels’ space is occupied by the canvas – a consistent element of O/O’s packaging since the start of the brewery’s activities back in 2010. The concept of featuring new artist collaborations for each beer has been retained, and as a direct consequence of the new design, the canvas for the artwork has been expanded. The design system scales seamlessly between different packaging formats, always retaining its consistency and assuring the maximum impact of the featured artwork.
To date, Lundgren+Lindqvist and O/O Brewing have invited the following artists to make artwork for the packaging series: Karen Gunderson (US), Daniel EKTA Götesson (SE), Ana Benaroya (US), Fredrik Åkum (SE), Carl Ander (SE), Alexander Palmestål (SE), Yun Yagisawa (JP), Tim Lahan (US).
