Behind the Label - Sonic Haze
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the branding at Starr Hill Brewery with our Marketing & Creative Manager, BJ Swing. This is the fifth post of a weekly series spotlighting the inspiration and process behind our designs. Our last post featured the 2022 All Access Series. If you like what you see, we have released some of our most popular labels as prints on heavy-weight, uncoated poster paper. Every sale supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Starr Hill will match the funds raised. More info below. Be sure to join our newsletter and follow us on social to stay up-to-date with these posts.
BJ Swing, Marketing & Creative Manager
Thursday, October 12, 2023
“It all starts with the music.” I wrote that in my notes as we began redesigning the packaging layouts in the spring of 2020. With the shutdowns in place, I was working from home, researching what a Starr Hill label should look like. 'Ramble On' was the first package I designed from scratch, but I was still influenced by the designs we had at the time. What was next?
'Born in a Music Hall' is a tagline we use to reference our original brewery and restaurant. It once occupied a space on West Main Street, located in the Starr Hill neighborhood. The space was a microbrewery, restaurant, art gallery, and a stage to host musicians. I moved to Charlottesville too late to experience what I can only imagine was a cultural hub. But there is also the story before that. The brewery’s founders were friends who traveled around, following the Grateful Dead. They met new friends along the way and decided to bring that concept of familiarity back home. They envisioned a place where these friends could gather around music and beer.
At the risk of sounding like a hipster, I was one of the few in college who collected records. I liked to explore secondhand stores and stumbled across a few places that had walls of records in the back. They had been sitting for ages and the clerks were happy for a kid to buy a pile for a dollar or two each. My friends and I would spin familiar classic rock bands and share the experience of the music. Community built around music is something we can all relate to.
While designing the art for 'Sonic Haze,' I reflected on the history of Starr Hill from research and stories. The new art style is a nod to the techniques used to create concert posters. Often screen-printed with a limited color palette and have a handmade roughness. The subject matter alludes to the music, but it's also the artist's own interpretation.
Concert poster wall at Starr Hill Brewery in Crozet, VA.
'Sonic Haze' features an endless wall of sound with analog sound equipment and speakers. It has nostalgia. Transporting you back to when you first fell in love with a song. There wasn't a beer to pull reference from when I was creating the art unlike the typical design approach, where we have a beer in mind and the label concept needs to be established. I developed a few labels to have ready as our plans developed. The needle had dropped with the lockdowns, and we were living in the moment. Without a beer or plan, I created things I wanted to see exist while thinking about Starr Hill's history and culture.
At Starr Hill, we discuss what it means to be a brewery with a history rooted in music. Very few of us were around in the early days of the music hall of 1999 or even when the brewery moved out to Crozet in 2005. Those days seem like lore and survive through stories from those who experienced it. Throughout the years, the brewery continued to revolve around music. For example, leaving work early to catch a show. Building relationships with venues. Talking about bands, sharing songs, and taking time to sit down and enjoy a beer with each other. It's all about community and building something together. And it all started with music.
If you are interested in a print of the Sonic Haze artwork, they are available in the brewery’s online shop. Your purchase supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you would like to learn more or donate to my campaign directly, you can visit https://finest.cff.org/Charlottesville/bjswing.
Have a question or want to drop me a note? You can contact me here.
Cheers!
The sales from this event will be donated directly to the CF Foundation, whose mission is to cure Cystic Fibrosis and provide all people with CF the opportunity to lead long fulfilling lives. Funds go directly to support research and drug development. Starr Hill Brewery will also match these proceeds up to $1,500 during this fundraising period.
This fundraiser will end on or before 12/31/2023. This fundraiser is not sponsored or administered by CF Foundation. All rights reserved.
