Tom Moore Freelance Graphic Designer

ABOUT

I began working with New Bristol Brewery in 2020; taking on the role of label designer for their new range of cans. Since then we have produced over 50 label designs together, making it one of the most involved artistic projects I have ever been a part of. I'm really proud of the can labels as a body of work, and the best part is… all the beers are all delicious too!

New Bristol Brewery's logo features (a space-suit-clad) Alfred the Gorilla - who arrived at Bristol Zoo in 1930 and became a popular attraction and animal celebrity. His fame grew to international proportions during World War II and after his death he remained an important mascot for the city of Bristol. His profile was further increased during World War II when visiting soldiers took images and stories of Alfred back to their home countries with articles about him appearing in the US and Australian press. After Alfred died in 1948, his taxidermic form was put on display in Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery where he continued to act as a mascot for the city. Alfred's form was stolen from the museum in 1956 and was missing for a weekend before he was discovered and returned, a mystery that remained unsolved until the death of one of the perpetrators in 2010.

The goal with the label art was to take Alfred on some new adventures - showing him exploring new worlds and wonderful locations. Dressed in a spacesuit, he can be seen doing anything from roaming mountain tops to diving in the deep blue sea; flying in a hot-air-balloon or riding across the desert on the back of a zebra! When I began designing, it was important to me to establish exactly how Alfred looked - including all the details of his space suit (the logo only featured his head and shoulders) - and I developed a series of poses of him that could be used on the initial can designs. What began as a simple black and white logo, has grown into a more all-encompassing story. Alfred has become the identity of the brewery, with each new can label being more than just about the flavour of the beer - it tells a new chapter in the story of Alfred's Adventures.

The ideas for the designs are a collaborative effort between myself and Maria - one of the brewery's founders. With a background in film and TV production, she has a real eye for a scene and is very particular when it comes to the sign-off process. That said, we have a lot of fun bouncing crazy ideas off each other and the goal is always to make the image eye-catching, colourful and strikingly beautiful. Alfred is always positioned dead centre on the label, and the theme of each label is often (but not always) related to the name of the beer in some way. Where the link is less obvious, we make connections with colour or try to create an atmosphere which feels like how the beer should taste. The Brewery doesn't have a core range, but instead produces two-to-three new beers a month. As such, the body of work will continue to grow and evolve alongside Alfred's Adventures, with more being written year-on-year.

AWARDS

Crushies - Craft Beer Marketing Awards (CBMAs) - Best Can Design: Best Beer Series (UK) - Platinum Winner

MADEIT CREDITS

studiopro:Tom was verified as a studiopro on 17th May 2022 Annual 2022 SilverAlfred's Adventures - New Bristol Brewery Can SeriesIllustration Project featured: on 23rd May 2022 Contributor:

Tom Moore has been a Contributor since 25th November 2015.

Invite x3

Alfred's Adventures - New Bristol Brewery Can Series

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