Andy asked me to create his Four Priests Brewery branding. A homebrew hobby turned start-up-side-hustle!
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Andy went full-on with this side-hustle and so did I with the new look! The name Four Priests comes from the priests Cedd, Betti, Adda and Diuma who were said to visit Sandbach ins 653 AD. The Sandbach Crosses are Anglo-Saxon and they have been brutalised over the years but now they stand proud on the High Street cobbles.
Andy wanted his brewery branding to take inspiration from the Sandbach Crosses and was happy to mix the old with the new. From there, it was up to me. I put together a varied set of ideas (see more on those below) and this Heads x Knot version was the winner!
Roundel Logo
Landscape Logo
Portrait Logo
Other concepts used blackletter inspired typefaces but with this idea, I went with bold and modern to suit the clean monoline logo mark. It’s modified to sit better with the mix of sharp and rounded areas on the logo mark itself.
Logo Mark
Available with and without the surround which symbolises a weathered section of the crosses
Primary Colour Scheme
Secondary Colour Scheme
Andy also needed a secondary colour scheme. It had to work with the existing blues and stone of the primary but could be used to distinguish different brews at a glance. Here we have the Stout, Amber, Pale and Traditional colours we’ll be running with.
Inspiration
This concept was inspired by the knots found near the top of the larger cross and the almost comical characters’ heads carved throughout. I toned down the nose and chin a little to make for a tidier look. It also features an actual cross (X) and if you squint really hard you may notice a faint shape of a keg.
I tried several versions of this mark, including ones that knotted into a circle and rougher treatments to mimic the carvings. This version came out on top, mixing the ye olde imagery with modern life, creating a very memorable mark.
Four Priests Brewery needed a core brand to resonate with consumers in an over saturated craft beer market.
We make great beer and it’s tempting to think “it’s only a logo, we can do that ourselves too, right?”.
Wrong. In just an evening Liv gained a deep understanding of what is most important to us – our locality, our focus on community and the importance of quality in all that we do, and somehow managed to create a visual representation of those things in a powerful but elegant image.
I can’t understate how I felt when I saw the results of Liv’s creativity.
The first thing that our customers see when they experience our product is Liv’s work, not ours, and I’m proud that we partnered with such a professional.
Andy Thomason, Founder of Four Priests Brewery Ltd
What other ideas did I come up with?
Depending on the branding package chosen you’ll get a set amount of concepts sent over. I always reserve the right to add in extra if I see fit (i.e. cannot decide).
First I researched the history of the Sandbach Crosses then sketched ideas whilst in front of them until my fingers froze. After sketching, many of the ideas were created digitally but not all made the cut. These stages are very much behind the scenes.
As the brief was based around the Sandbach Crosses and the history, that’s where my concepts went. But in very different styles. From carved heads and Anglo-Saxon runic monograms to the crosses themselves. Then into crazier territory with emotive priests! You’ll see the inspiration for those if you watch the videos above. This is the stage where you’d see the concepts.
At this stage, it’s all still very much open to adjustments. Keen on a concept but don’t like a font? Not a problem. Colours aren’t working? Let’s narrow it down and try some others. Not keen on the layout? Okay, it’s not set in stone. From here we develop the idea. Once happy it’s polished off and wrapped up. Brand guidelines get created and extra brand collateral gets created. A logo is only the beginning…
Looking for your own brewery branding? Email me.
Interested in craft beer, home brewing and side-hustles?
Andy has a Youtube series showing the ins and outs of setting up a brewery. Spoiler alert: it’s not easy and the red tape is everywhere! He’s gone from brewing at home to thinking “right, let’s do this” and getting himself a spacious starter unit down the road from Sandbach. He’s put in some serious hours to get it ready to brew 👉 Watch his journey here.
If you’re into your beers, be sure to support this new venture by clicking subscribe, following along on social media or buying some beer!
Find out more about my process in the Clique Mojo project.
Here are a few other logos
