Mock Up of a Proposed Beer Can Design
The first part of my proposed action plan involved designing a beer can label that emphasizes these water issues in the context of DBB. As simple as it sounds, this finding is worth restating: the less water a brewery uses, the less effluent discharge they have. Therefore, the primary focus of the hypothetical design for DBB was grounded in it not only being aesthetically pleasing, but also a design that would make consumers think more critically about DBB’s water usage as well as their own. The name, “𝐻2𝑂 Conscious” is meant to lead people to think that they could be conscious of their water footprint, even if they are not already thinking about it.
Two Hydrogen atoms combine with one Oxygen atom to form a water molecule. I decided to use a big watercolor of the molecules repeated as different sizes with the chemical formula, 𝐻2𝑂, repeated as well in the background. I especially liked the coincidence of my handwritten O’s looking like water droplets or even tears. The design overall, reminds us that water cannot be recreated. In other words, our supply is limited. Some of the language included like, “A Chesapeake Watershed Classic” remind the local consumers why DBB’s problems are their problems too: they share a watershed.
Overall, I used my own artwork and practice with graphic design to create this beer can label. While it would also work on a bottle, glass requires more water to produce, so I decided on the easily recyclable beer can. My hope for the design is that it follows suit with modern, yet retro lettering, fun pops of color, and a somewhat absurd pattern that many other craft beer companies employ for their labels too.