Random Row Brewing Co.
A brand refresh for Charlottesville’s community brewery.
Project Synopsis
Background
Random Row Brewing Co. is an independent brewery and taproom in Charlottesville, Virginia. Their mission is to make high quality, locally brewed craft beer that has a positive impact on their customers and the community. The brewery opened to the public in 2016, and Random Row quickly became known for its fresh, small-batch beer and its inviting, family-friendly taproom which hosts a regular schedule of events connecting neighbors and businesses.
The Project
As they approached their third anniversary, Random Row decided it was time to share their beer with a wider audience by expanding their distribution and putting their beer on retail shelves. In preparation for launching into retail, they approached us about a brand refresh.
Our goal was to make the brand more cohesive and versatile as a foundation for entry into the retail market and continued growth.
The Team
Wyndsor Hug
Todd Wickersty
Working closely with Random Row, we revisited the brand’s story and refined the vision. The new identity refreshes existing brand elements and introduces new ones, working to set Random Row apart and reinforce their commitment to creating community.
To strengthen the brewery’s values of community and charity, we developed two new mottos for the brewery: Crafting Community is the brand’s primary tagline.
Pour It Forward is a secondary tagline that can be used to create brand impressions for the brand’s charitable work. This is one of our favorite submarks, a design based on the brewery’s tap handles.
A Sense of Randomness
The new wordmark is built from the font Rift Soft. It’s similar to the old font in its narrow and rounded forms, but cleaner and more versatile with a larger character set and more weights. Customizations—like the distinctive lines—add a sense of randomness and make the mark more proprietary to Random Row.
The RR monogram has been central to the brand from the beginning. The new version is bold and modern but distinctly Random Row. The redrawn stalk of barley now sits vertically, creating a more balanced composition.
The Random Row identity comes to life through a set of secondary logos, marks, and patterns which can be used to express the brand’s story and personality in different ways.
The new badge was inspired by the industrial history of the brewery’s location.
The new brand also introduces a more refined color palette. The old identity relied primarily on navy blue, which was limiting, so we paired an updated Random Row Blue with a warm earthy, gold, and a cool, steel gray.
On the Mark
Random Row sits on the site of a lumberyard from the 1900’s. A key element from the old brand was the cross section of a tree. We loved the idea behind this mark, but the shape was confusing with their audience, so we introduced wood back into the brand identity via a backdrop texture.
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