Creative branding studio Kingdom & Sparrow has partnered with Bristol-based craft brewery Arbor Ales to deliver a bold and vibrant brand refresh, coinciding with the brewery’s national supermarket rollout in M&S stores, and South West rollout in Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Since 2007, Arbor Ales has been a mainstay of Bristol’s independent beer scene. Known for their adventurous brews and distinctive pint-sized cans, the brand approached Kingdom & Sparrow with a clear ambition: to evolve their visual identity without losing the loyal recognition they’d built over the years.

“Their fanbase knows Arbor for their signature maple leaf, so rather than lose that strong recognition, we evolved it. It firmly holds its place on front-of-pack but has been emboldened and made contemporary – satisfyingly balanced in place into the new logotype” said Johnny Paton, Kingdom and Sparrow’s Founder and Creative Director.

In contrast, the can design is angular and assertive, incorporating strong lines and high-impact colourways that reflect Arbor’s love of bold aesthetics. Staying true to Arbor’s bold colourful can designs, Kingdom & Sparrow introduced a vibrant visual system with a strong, dynamic strike of colour creating a clear and easily recognisable face in the beer aisle, allowing for endless combinations for range expansion – and Arbor to brew and invent for years to come.
Arbor’s pint cans, an uncommon format in the UK craft beer scene, are now front and centre of their visual strategy. Kingdom & Sparrow created heroic, rendered imagery showcasing the cans from towering perspectives, dialling up the drama and reinforcing Arbor’s strapline; “Full Pint Satisfaction.”

“Working with Kingdom and Sparrow has been an absolute joy.” Says Arbor’s Sales Director and Co-Founder Meg Oliver. “We went through many design agencies before Kingdom & Sparrow, as they simply couldn’t grasp the ‘Arbor voice’. However, within a few meetings with them, it felt as if they fully understood and appreciated the brief, and they executed it in record time. We didn’t have to go through many iterations, at all, to get to the final goal, and we couldn’t be happier with the result!”