To promote a return to the good ol' days of drinking microbrewed beer, a local brewery has turned to a Cal State Long Beach graphic design class to bash stuffy impressions and create a stylish, attractive label for its two new beer flavors, Beach Blond Ale and Longboard Lager.
The head brewer of Bayhawk Ales has friends who are alumni of the graphic arts department at CSULB. That is how the company decided to contract this semester's students, according to Karl Zappa, general manager and vice president of Bayhawk located in Irvine.
"We're a small, local brewery and we want to do what we can to support other establishments," Zappa said.
While classroom projects can give students unlimited creativity, working with a client is a different story. Bayhawk defined specific color, size and topic parameters for the students before the project even started.
"It was probably more real-world or more difficult than just getting an assignment in class where there are no limitations," graphic design major Alyssa Jackson said.
There's a marked difference between just getting a professor's opinion and working with a client, a creative director, a creative team or an art director," said Dr. Tom Hall, professor of the graphic design workshop.
"You have more people that you have to respond to and generate ideas for. You have to learn how to see things from the client's point of view," Hall said.
Of the 16 students participating, Bayhawk will choose one student whose work best illustrates their needs.
"Whoever gets their design chosen is going to get a lot of visibility," Hall said. "They will get a lot of printed pieces for their portfolio."
This is an unmatched opportunity for students to do real projects for real clients, a chance they would not otherwise have, he said.
The last magazine ad Bayhawk created was scribbled on a napkin by an employee, and published in its original form. This time, Zappa said his company wanted to go to "graphics, artistic people to do it."
"We all have ideas, but none of us can draw a picture," said Zappa.
Zappa said Bayhawk wanted to dispel the highbrow impression of microbrewed beer. "You can still drink it with pizza, you still drink it at the beach," he said.
Bayhawk has promoted a relaxed atmosphere for the students, and has encouraged them to have fun with their projects. The selection of only one student's logo is not as nerve-racking for the class as it might seem, Jackson said.
"It's something we should be used to," Jackson said. "It will come across in our work if we're excited about it."
In addition to their work with Bayhawk Breweries, Hall's class designs the front and back pages of the CSULB class catalog and schedule of classes every year. They have also worked with the community, designing T-shirt graphics and posters for the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach.
According to Hall, the graphic design program has been impacted for the last 25 or 30 years, and a student wishing to enter must submit a portfolio for review.
Zappa wants students to know that a good microbrew does not have to cost a lot.
"(Beer) just doesn't all come out of silver cans," he said.
Both Beach Blond Ale and Longboard Lager are not bottled, but can be bought in kegs through the Bayhawk brewery. The company also brews for local restaurants, which sell the beer under a different name.
"Many people have probably had our beer and didn't even know it," Zappa said.