(A PRELUDE TO Branding a Brewery in Bangalore Part 2: Designing a Visual Identity System)
In the summer of 2008, I moved to Bangalore for design school. For the next couple of years, as the city turned colours, I found myself plunged deep into this world of design, culture, business, internet, media and eventually the ‘mobile-first’ world.
As I graduated, the tech, media and creative industry abruptly woke up to an expansion — as if with an extra dose of steroids. The animal called ‘social-media’ bared its teeth. Apps became as necessary as a toothbrush. And almost all communication design turned digital. I designed projects after projects adapting myself to creating content that was here today and gone tomorrow. All to match an industry where ‘change’ is like bread, ‘relevance’ like butter and ‘AB testing’ the plate you eat said bread and butter out of.
Over these exciting yet fleeting projects, I found myself craving to design a brand that can be touched and felt, reflects the city’s soul and stays put in one place for years to come.
A decade later, in 2018, I get to conceptualise, design and direct the realisation of a brewery and restaurant brand in Bangalore.
The challenge: Design a brewery brand that honours its inspiration and fits snug into the time and space it occupies.
The information I had at that point was:
1. It was to be a massive three-floored brewery and restaurant with three bars, different seating areas and a convertible roof.
2. It was already named The Pump House, inspired by the first water pump of the city.
3. It was to be located in old-Bangalore.
4. It would become a microbrewery focused on crafting quality beer.
5. It would serve a curated list of starters, main course, dessert pizza that pairs well with its house beers.
I asked and researched the relevant questions. Based on which I broke down the three core pillars — the attitude, the aesthetic and the associations.
The Attitude
My clients intended the brewery to be a casual and comforting yet classy and elegant place. So I zeroed in on a brand attitude of “classy with a pinch of wit”.
The Aesthetic
The aesthetic of the brand was partly drawn from the architecture and the interiors — that were being constructed from the foundation up. And partly from familiar visual and emotional cues associated with beer drinking, bar food and brewing. Combined with the brand attitude, the personality of the brand was shaping up.
The Associations
I further broke down intended brand associations into the three categories — product & industry, brand personality and context. Added to the aesthetic and attitude, it gave me a clear-cut foundation for building the identity and voice of the brand.
The Story
Once a solid foundation of intent is laid down, the story of a brand crafts itself and emerges from its past inspirations, present context and future aspirations. Then it is simply a matter of weaving the right words into the fabric of the brand.
The Copy Assets
One might ask, what is the need for such copy assets beyond a brand name? Well, in this case, I wanted to create a brand identity system that runs beyond the usual corporate branding trope of logo-colours-fonts-stationary.
I wanted to create an identity system for the brand’s long game.
A brand with a cohesive system of multiple elements, that can be used to build brand recall without diluting the brand and the primary logo.
My clients were clear on their intent and inspiration and the previous exercise laid out a clear brand direction. After making iterations for all three we locked on the following copy assets.
‘Tastefully Wasted’ would be the tagline — a phrase that exudes the tongue-in-cheek mischief of self-indulgent intoxication. The Pump House intends to get you high in the most tasteful manner possible.
‘Craft Beer & Zesty Food’ came easily as a qualifier. Two priorities. Good beer and good food. Period.
‘Crafted in Bengaluru’ ties the brand’s identity in the most concise way possible to its story and place of origin.
Yes, it does seem obvious now but do you remember what I said about a brand’s long game? I designed the tagline to make the brand fly high, the qualifier to ground it and the origin statement to give it roots.
The Nomenclature
The core brand copy is now complemented by bar names, beer names and a cocktail nomenclature system.
A big open-planned structure with three bars and different seating areas calls for naming the bars. The ground floor bar is named ‘Gravity’ — this is your vantage point from where you can take in the entire structure and its scale. Like gravity, it pulls you in as it keeps you firm on solid ground. You go up a suspended staircase as rising vapour to the first-floor bar named ‘Steam’. The top floor bar named ‘Drop’ is at a height from where you can see roof-to-ground and feel the steep drop many feet below.
After much deliberation, it was decided the beer nomenclature would be kept simple to its variant name — letting the brews speak for themselves.
And finally, it was time for a little play and add some va-va-voom in the cocktail nomenclature that borrows their whims from the brand attitude and the tagline.
The Guiding Principles
A brand gets strong only by maintaining consistency and authenticity in its communication and offerings. I crafted a set of guiding principles for The Pump House brand so that in the long run there is always a core focal point for clear intentions and a consistent voice.
For strong brands do not fear time.
I always insist on building a strong foundation for any branding exercise. Such brand assets may not earn you financial currency in the short term but they compound your brand’s social currency many folds over in the long run.
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Read / Designing a Visual Identity System Case Study
See / The Pump House Brand Identity Design
See / The Pump House Bar & Restaurant Collaterals
Design Case Study
See / The Pump House Signage & Space Installations
See / The Pump House Brand Imagery
If you want to explore how to position and create identity assets for your business, feel free to reach out and open up a conversation .
You can also follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes and work process.