great flood brewing co.

Type Design, Logo Updates, & Mural Design

Great Flood Brewing Co. had just purchased a building for their second location–a new brewpub–when they came to Decree. It was a three phase project that involved 1) type design, 2) updating their logo with the new type, and 3) a mural design for the restaurant. 

Great Flood not only has delicious beer, but Art Deco is one of Decree’s favorite styles, so there was nothing but pure excitement when it came to the project.

phase 1

Type Design

Since 2014, Great Flood Brewing Company has had a handful of custom letters they’ve used for their can labels and they wanted a full set with 4 variations that included oblique versions.

After tweaking the existing letters and building out the rest of the alphabet, the fonts were then programmed so they could be typed out using a standard keyboard.

Shown below are two of the four variations (oblique options of both were designed as well). The font is named 1937 in remembrance of Louisville’s Great Flood.

1937 Regular

1937 Semi Bold

phase 2

Logo Updates

After completing the type designs, they needed it to be implemented into their logo. Also requested were logo modifications that looked fresh, yet similar to the original.

All aspects were adjusted and balanced–especially the bottom–to push the logo more into the direction of a classical Art Deco marquee vibe. In the end, what I had pitched was too far from the original, so we backed up and ended on what is seen. They were also provided variants of the approved option (name only, a version with the fleur-de-lis in white with a stroke, etc.).

Original Logo

Pitched Update

Approved Option

phase 3

Mural Design

The final phase was the mural design that would be hand painted onto the wall in the bar area. They requested an Art Deco piece that incorporated elements from their logo and a connection to Louisville.

Two initial concepts were sketched out. Concept 1 was a schematic of the brewing process (brew tank, fermentation tank, keg, etc.) with well known features of Louisville. Concept 2 was a combination of logo elements and decorative line work.

Due to potential decrease in wall real estate for the design, we ditched the first two concepts and pursued the third and final cityscape concept that was approved and then painted by the team at Great Flood. The finished display stretches roughly 30 feet wide and 18 feet tall.