CF Napa Brand Design’s Packaging Design Helps New Craft Brewery, Helmsman Ale House, Set Sail

CF Napa Brand Design was tasked with designing the logo, can and bottle packaging for a new, nautical-themed restaurant and brewery in Newport Beach – the only craft brewery in Newport Beach. CF Napa Brand Design also provided input on the list of possible names for the seaside brewery and recommended the chosen name, Helmsman Ale House. The design needed to speak to the brand’s target demographic – a fun-loving, adventurous, outdoorsy Newport Beach local with a passion for good food and great craft beer. The brand was to compete against, not only the local Newport Beach bars, but bars and breweries throughout all of Orange County.

CF Napa Brand Design’s custom, in-house illustration of a weathered sailor became the icon for the brand. The hand-drawn icon tells the story of the experienced sailor’s tenure steering at the helm, slowly becoming one with his beloved ship. His beard gradually morphs into tentacles that intertwine with the ship’s wheel. The Helmsman icon was given a distressed texture, as if slowly faded by the saltwater, bright sun and wind one faces on a ship. The Helmsman logo was utilized as the main graphic on a 32 fl oz crowler can, a 64 fl oz growler, growler hang tag and a universal tap handle with an interchangeable magnet, allowing one tap handle design to be used for each of their craft beers. The Helmsman Ale House packaging design lives up to the brand’s motto – Artfully Crafted, Locally Inspired.

To ensure consistency across the growing brand, CF Napa Brand Design created the brand standards manual for Helmsman Ale House. The reference manual contains guidelines crucial to maintaining the original look and feel of the design including logo usage, brand colors and brand fonts.