Lost Coast Brewery Branding by Duane Flatmo

We have already covered some cool examples of beer label branding here at FeedGrids and are now offering an interesting follow-up: a great sampling of creative and unique beer label branding by Lost Coast Brewery - a pure source of graphic design inspiration.

Going away to college is a rite of passage – you have a sense of stepping into adulthood once you’ve moved out of your parents’ house. Often what comes with the new sense of maturity is imbibing in adult beverages. And once you turn of legal drinking age, you can try “good” beer rather than settle for whatever cheap booze you can get through shoulder-tapping.

Thus was my introduction to microbrews when I went away to Humboldt State University on the North Coast of California. The region is ripe with craft breweries, none more beloved by me than Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, Calif.

I won’t lie – while Downtown Brown is my No. 1 beer, a main part of Lost Coast Brewery’s charm is in its branding. I’m one of those people who purchases wine based on the label, and the same holds true when it comes to Lost Coast. The labels and the six-pack carriers by Duane Flatmo are mini works of art with their Picasso-like distorted creatures and bold colors – no staid typography here. The creative brand identity is so popular that Lost Coast devotes a page of its website to collectors on the hunt for labels, bottlecaps and coasters. If collecting isn’t a sign of being an adult, then I don’t know what is.

Here is a sampling of Flatmo’s work for Lost Coast Brewery, which is sure to inspire graphic designers and remind them that commercial work doesn’t have to be corporate-looking.