We wanted to give you a little behind-the-scenes look at how we came up with our new Birthday series, and all the work that went into it. So we caught up with our Creative Director, Stefan, and Head of Design, Amy, to shed some light on the process.
Making Of Forms - Video
S — Every birthday brings with it a certain sense of reflection. We look back and take in everything that’s happened to get us to this point. You throw around terms like “the old days”, lean into the nostalgia of it all, before being gently pinched by the memory of just how much hard work and struggle went into making it happen.
Reflection is great when you’re sitting around sharing a beer together, but when it comes to design, that’s a whole other story. We wanted to look forward instead of back. What haven’t we done before? What hasn’t been done before?
It starts with a conversation, a blank canvas, and a lot of spinning on your chair. Slowly, ideas begin to percolate. Then there’s that fleeting moment of inspiration, like a butterfly in the room. You catch it in your hands and daren’t open them fully for fear it might fly away again. Instead, you leave a small gap to glimpse it, to examine it. Quite often, that butterfly isn’t the one you were searching for, but it becomes the seed from which the concept grows. And then you’re away.
That’s how this year felt with our FORMS series. I always struggle to pinpoint the exact moment it began, but I remember talking about atoms, space, the Large Hadron Collider, and the underlying laws of nature. And then it clicked.
A — After seeing how much people invested in last year’s 10th birthday collection, drinking the beers, collecting the stickers, completing the poster, we knew we wanted to build on that engagement.
This time, we wanted to do something similar but add an extra layer of complexity to switch it up. The final beer, a BA Imperial Stout, featured a peel-able label that revealed a codex, allowing you to crack the code using the stickers you’d already collected.
Stef and I are always looking for ways to stretch what a can label can be, not just something you glance at, but something you interact with.
I don’t know exactly where the idea for FORMS came from, but I do know there’s some kind of magic that happens when we’re trying to figure out the concept for an upcoming project. It feels foggy at first, with an uncertainty about which way to turn. To find our way again, we usually turn to what inspires us, often nature-based, which opens up that innately creative part of the brain. Then, as Stef says, there’s a spark that sets off a chain of thoughts and ideas. Before you know it, you’re caught in a whirlwind of energy, a catalyst that allows the concept to grow before your eyes.
That led us into the world of Platonic forms, and to mathematical and scientific illustrations from books over 100 years old. I’ve always been a visual learner and was never particularly good at maths, so seeing these drawings helped me better understand the “laws” that underpin the world around us. Pairing those accurate, considered illustrations with the irregular, free-flowing nature of watercolour created a contrast that felt right.
Figuring out the puzzle and all the moving parts that came with it was a little complicated, but it all came together. People enjoyed the extra work involved in figuring it out, and seeing everything align in the end felt really special.
Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to be part of this year’s Birthday series.
Without your curiosity, interest and willingness to take part, none of this would be possible.