0

Client

Upper Street Beer Bros

DATE

May: 2024

Sometimes the best ideas begin with a conversation over a pint, and that's exactly how this one started.

Upper Street Beer Bros. had brewed their very first American Pale Ale as a small, one-off production run for a local pub in Islington. The hope was that this wouldn't simply be a single release, but the beginning of a small family of independently brewed beers, each with its own personality and story.

Rather than creating another craft beer label covered in hops, mountains or quirky illustrations, they wanted something that genuinely felt at home on Upper Street. As both owners happened to be huge cinema fans, one building kept finding its way into the conversation.

If you know Islington, you'll know the building. Standing proudly on Upper Street since 1913, Screen on the Green is one of Britain's oldest continuously operating cinemas. Over the years it has reinvented itself many times, but one chapter stood out more than any other.

During the 1970s, the cinema became an unlikely home for London's emerging punk scene, hosting legendary gigs by the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Buzzcocks. It was easy to imagine the crowds spilling out onto Upper Street after another unforgettable night, ears ringing and heads a little fuzzy the following morning. That's exactly where the name Hangover came from. It wasn't simply the name of the beer, but a playful tribute to the cinema's wonderfully rebellious past.

While the beer's name nods to the cinema's rebellious past, they wanted the design itself to be more evocative of the building and its place as a local landmark.

The more time we spent looking at it, the more we realised we didn't need to invent very much. It already had everything we needed. Bold Art Deco geometry, elegant arches, glowing neon, vintage marquees and enough personality to wrap around an entire beer can.

The more time we spent looking at the building, the more we realised we didn't need to invent very much. It already had everything we needed. Bold Art Deco geometry, elegant arches, glowing neon, vintage marquees and enough personality to wrap around an entire beer can.

Strong geometric shapes and oversized blocks of colour borrow from the cinema's distinctive Art Deco façade, while the large arch framing the centre of the label echoes both the building's entrance and the magnificent barrel-vaulted ceiling hidden inside. It naturally became the stage for the beer's name, almost like the opening curtain before the main feature begins.

By this point, even the colours had found their place. Midnight blues for the auditorium. Warm yellows for the lights. Bright reds borrowed from the cinema's iconic neon sign.

The classic searchlights that once announced grand openings and movie premieres became slightly squinting, sleepy eyes, looking as though they'd celebrated the launch of Hangover a little too enthusiastically. The triangular shapes scattered across the design represent the beams of those lights sweeping across the night sky, bringing movement and energy to the whole composition.

Along the bottom of the label you'll spot the neatly clipped ornamental trees that framed the cinema's entrance back in the day, while decorative crosses echo the rows of illuminated bulbs surrounding traditional theatre marquees. Repeating geometric patterns reference the building's Art Deco detailing, and arches quietly appear throughout the artwork, tying everything back to the architecture without ever becoming a literal illustration.

Even the typography follows the same idea. The oversized letterforms are built from bold geometric forms, echoing the blocks, angles and symmetry of the cinema's façade while still feeling like letters from an old marquee board proudly announcing tonight's feature.

On their own they're tiny references, but together they create something that feels instantly familiar to anyone who knows Screen on the Green. The can becomes the marquee. The searchlights announce the premiere. The architecture becomes the stage. And Hangover steps into the spotlight as the opening act for what Upper Street Beer Bros. hope will become a growing collection of beers.

For a first release, it only seemed right to give it an opening night worthy of one of Islington's most iconic landmarks.