Reasons I Drink Brewing Co.

Owned by A. L. Vranizan

Company Summary

Reasons I Drink Brewing Company is a Portland-based microbrewery that will be officially launching on the city’s east side in 2024-2025. I have had the privilege of fulfilling the design needs of this up-and-coming company that will be crafting beers and serving food & drink in a brick-and-mortar restaurant with a laid-back atmostphere— serving as a neighborhood oasis from every day life.

The concept for Reasons I Drink is the feeling of having a cold, refreshing beer after enduring the stress of a rough day. (Please note that Reasons I Drink promotes healthy drinking habits, as everything is acceptable in moderation.)

Target Audience

As a local, Portland-based micro-brewery, the company considered their ideal target audience to be any hip Portlandian’s above the age of 21. To achieve a “gender-free vibe” (as described by the owner), we focused on the essence of Portland when it was “back in the good ol’ days” while incorporating a bright yet gender neutral color palette. This led to us referring to our brand as “Neo-Retro.”

Design Goals

The owner expressed their appreciation for my interest in Pop-Art, and specified that they would like me to complete the designs in that particular style. They informed me that they needed me to design thelogo, beer cans, menu, and some merchandise for promoting their business.

What was needed from me was a cohesive representation of the brewery’s brand, which I had somewhat of a say in considering this company is still in its early developing stages.

I began with the logo and the wants, needs, and specifications provided by the owner— and away we went.

Overal Budget: $13,000

• Copyright registration fees (for print & internet)= ~$200

• Waterproof Menus (Quantity 200)= ~$400

• Merchandise (All merchandise items allowed $50 for sample orders + shipping. Totaling $100)

  • Screen-printed Tees (Quantity 500)= ~$4,500

Planning to give away half of inventory in the beginning stages of promotion and sell the other half in-store for $34.99. The sale of this entire batch of tee inventory will result in an overall profit of an estimated $4.2k.

• Custom-designed Beer Cans (Total uantity unknown as crafting beer is still in progress)— Initial can production budgeted at $4,500.

• Remaining amount of design budget was used for potential wiggle room in budgetary needs/ unplanned expenses and my compensation for the project.

Schedule

This project began in April of 2022 and was wrapped up in August, 2022, which took a full 5 months. Because I have a personal relationship with the owner of this business, we knew that we wanted the process to wrap up within the six-month span, but we just set the rough plan that at least one specific stage would be completed every month. The stages we laid out were:

1. Research/ Planning

2. Drafting

3. Sample prints and merchandise created/ approved

4. Final prints delivered

5. Final Review/ Finishing Touches.

We finished this timeline two weeks earlier than planned. I am so thrilled to see this company launch into its successful and abundant future. I, for one, know I’ll be enjoying a beer there once the time comes.