Steel Toe Brewing Can Redesign
PACKAGING » 2024—2025 » SIXSPEED
Tucked into the warehouse district of St. Louis Park is Steel Toe Brewing: “A small MN craft brewery with big dreams of staying small.” SixSpeed had originally designed Steel Toe’s brand many years ago, but it was time for a fresh new look for their flagship beers. Our goal was to retain the industrial, hard-earned spirit of the Steel Toe brews but breathe new life into the look and feel, and bring their seasonal brew labels into this new style.
We initially presented six different concepts that each had their own take on what Steel Toe’s specific customers would resonate with. Some were more trendy, some were more nostalgic. We also took in-store presentation into consideration: ensuring our designs would stand out amidst the vast sea of beer can labels, and that the fridge shelving racks wouldn’t block key information on the cans. These concepts also had to work as a template for their varying seasonal brews, which was its own typography, layout, and logistical challenge.
After many rounds of tweaks, votes from their regulars, and a tough final decision, they landed on our favorite direction: a sleek, utilitarian, steel-centered, semi-brutalist (yet approachable) label that stays true to their warehouse vibe but feels fresh and new.
Senior Designer: Ry Johnson
Junior Designer: Jack Gilbert
Supporting Production Designer: Matt Christiansen
Part of the brief was to ensure their seasonal brew labels fit into our new design, which was a challenge due to varying name lengths, template usability for their team, and a different dieline with no neck wrap. This simplified label still fits into our overall redesign, but the color floods allow for easy changes and the title space allows for short names as well as multi-line longer names. The style is still easily recognizable as Steel Toe, without having every element from their flagship cans.