Print Design
Catty Wampus Can Design
A minimalist, feline design.
Brief
Joe, the winemaker at The Vineyards at Pine Lake, approached me with the idea of designing a can label for a beer he wanted to call Catty Wampus. The name was a reference to the term catawampus, which means an imaginary fierce wild animal. He wanted the brew to be a dedication to his cat, with the design incorporating his cat’s unique black-and-white silhouette. Joe wanted to utilize negative space in the design by having the white parts of his cat fade into the background, leaving only the dark parts to form the outline.
Process
I started the process of working on the logo. The first step was finding a good picture of Missy the cat. I needed a photo that provided good contrast so I could image trace it in Adobe Illustrator. Making the necessary adjustments in Photoshop and importing it into Illustrator gave me the basis for the logo.
Next was the word mark. I’ve experimented with two fonts, CUSTARD and DROOG HEAVY. These fonts were fun and playful, characterized by their unique letter shapes and uneven baselines. They were the perfect font for a beer about cats.
I worked on the overall composition of the can last. I broke the can into three parts, separated with black and white fur designs.
Challenges
Sizing was a challenge for me with this project. I had to design the Catty Wampus label to fit a 19.2 oz can, which is different from a standard 12 oz size. I started with a rough template I found on the web, but that template was for a specific label company rather than the one the company decided to go with. After getting the correct dimensions, it was just a matter of scaling up the design to fit the composition.
Britches and Hose Can Design
Bright, colorful, and a playful design to say the least.
Brief
After designing the Catty Wampus can, Joe approached me with another idea for a brew called Britches and Hose. He recommended a man wearing a pair of britches holding a watering hose for the design.
Character Design Process
I started with the character in the design. I proposed using the persona found on the Yeeterhosen can, another of Joe’s brews. However, the working file couldn’t be found, so I had to extract the yellow smiling guy from an image of a Yeeterhosen print label.
After extraction, I used Image Trace in Adobe Illustrator to get the character in vector format. From here, I started editing him directly, changing his posture, adding a hat, and adding a pair of britches. Shortly after, I included the fire hydrant and hose to complete the character.
Can Design Process
I wanted a simple sky and grass background to compliment the character and to split up the can. The red flowers contrast with the green grass and draw the eye toward the name.
Typeface
I incorporated two fonts into the design; The primary type being Flower Power, and the accent type being Grafolita Script. Flower Power’s non-uniform characters provide a fun and entertaining look, while Grafolita Script gives off some classical and colonial vibes.
Challenges
Human anatomy in design is one of my weak points, so it’s no surprise that building the character was a struggle for me. To help assist me with the arms, I took pictures of myself holding an extension cord for reference. As for the lower body, I pulled a character from Envato Elements, cut him in half, placed the legs on my design, and then added the white socks. By doing this, I was able to create a simple persona that was anatomically correct.
