Package Design - April 2014 - 33

Wrapping the bottles
in paper was a way
for the brand to stand
out on shelves.

paper material, so he researched
technique to keep it grounded in
different types until he had the
a traditional aesthetic."
super permanent adhesive he
For the logo typeface,
needed so it would be difficult to
McGarity chose Homestead, a
pull off.
Lost Type Co-Op font; which is
McGarity adds that wrapping
described as, "An evocative yet
the bottles in paper was a way for
forward thinking slab." She also
the brand to stand out on shelves
chose an inline style with a modand protect the beer from light; it
ified gold shadow, again playing
was also an affordable printing
off the pub sign style.
solution. The trick was figuring
"For the colors, it was impordesign goals for
out a paper that could withstand
tant for the logo to feel modern-
Ponysaurus' package
design
condensation while still feeling
Ponysaurus is a modern brewery
sturdy and natural in your hand.
in a creative city full of young
stand out in a crowded market
A plastic material was out of the
tastemakers," McGarity says.
question-deemed too shiny and
"We needed a modern palette
create a unique brand icon
unnatural.
without becoming too contempo deliver a look true to the traditional brewing
"Once we committed to that
rary. Black, white and very subtle
style while living up to the eccentricity of the
design we probably went through
pops of gold ended up being the
Ponysaurus name.
15 different paper options,"
palette that propelled the logo
McGarity says. "Originally I
into a more modern space."
thought it could be something as simple
Ponysaurus brand manager David
could be truly unique and handcrafted,
as bright white 28-lb. printer paper-
Baldwin, also Baldwin&'s owner and
but that was unrealistic," she says.
but that idea faded rather quickly. We
creative director, says for a new brand
"Each flavor has to have a unique correfinally landed on a parchment after
with no appreciable marketing budget,
sponding barcode for point-of-sale sysDavid Baldwin referenced a chocolate
the packaging and brand identity mean
tems to read them, which meant that
bar wrapper he had found. It turned out
everything.
each flavor could have its own texture.
to hold up to water surprisingly well
"They are the marketing," Baldwin
We used traditional four-color printing
while still feeling great in your hand."
says. "Our goal was to create a brand
on French Paper Company's 60-lb.
The finishing elements were the botidentity that very clearly stated who we
white vellum stock."
tle cap and sticker that adheres to the
are and the premium quality of our
Mike Cook of Glover Corp. Inc.
product. Our recipes are based on tradi- printed the label and started the process top of each bottle-both are nice pieces
of livery that finished the package
tional recipes but with a Ponysaurus
by creating several different mockups
design in a cohesive way.
spin on everything. That's the fusion of
and substrates.
the horse and the dinosaur, the old
"I knew the label had to be permaworld pub sign and the progressive
nently attached to the bottle so I came
The final product
typography, and the traditional illustraup with several alternatives," he says.
Baldwin& handled all production intion mixed with the arch logo form.
"They changed from a cloth material to
house, reaching out to local vendors as
Everything we do is about the collision
a paper material, so I took their designs
much as possible, but it was a team
of disparate things."
and came up with final design of the
effort in making the finished product a
label, physically wrapping the bottle
success.
with paper."
Label logistics
Cook admits it's something of a chalOnce McGarity had the design where
For more inFormation, visit
lenge to use paper on a beverage, findshe wanted it, she applied different textures for each label in Photoshop to cre- ing the perfect luminous material that
Baldwin&, www.baldwinand.com
can easily form and wrap around the
ate a stamped look and feel.
Glover Corp. Inc., www.gloverprinting.com
bottle. Another challenge was that he
"If it had been possible I would have
needed to apply tape to two sides of the
hand stamped each bottle, so each one

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

Package Design - April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Package Design - April 2014