Beverage branding has been a continuous part of my design practice for more than three decades, spanning beer, spirits, and emerging beverage brands. I work across identity, packaging, and the broader visual systems that give a product a distinct and recognizable presence in the marketplace.
The work shown here centers on two current brands—Catskills Brewery and Ancient Drinks—along with a selection of earlier beverage projects.
Catskill Brewery
Building a brand as distinctive as the beer.
Catskill Brewery was already an established craft brewery when we began working together. Based in Livingston Manor, New York, the brewery had built a reputation for serious beer, sustainable production and an unusually broad range of styles. What it lacked was a visual identity capable of expressing all of that at a glance—and of growing with the company.
We completely rethought the identity and packaging around a simple idea: every beer should have its own personality, but every beer should unmistakably belong to Catskill Brewery. A new raccoon became the constant—the recognizable face of the brand—while typography, illustration, color and composition were allowed to change dramatically from beer to beer. Ball Lightning could feel electric. Nightshine could feel dark and slightly dangerous. Grass Wagon could have an entirely different voice. Instead of forcing a growing portfolio into a rigid template, we built a system designed to accommodate difference.
The identity expanded beyond the cans into cartons, signage, merchandise, advertising and the brewery itself, creating a visual language that could work just as effectively on a crowded retail shelf as it did on the side of a building. As new beers and seasonal releases were introduced, the system gave Catskill Brewery room to continually add to the family without diluting the brand.
Over the years since the redesign, Catskill Brewery has continued to expand its presence throughout New York. Its beers are now sold through bars, restaurants and retailers across the state, with continued growth in the New York metropolitan market. The brewery has also accumulated an extraordinary run of recognition, including medals at the New York State Craft Beer Competition, a World Beer Cup medal, and in 2025, the Matthew Vassar Brewer’s Cup naming Catskill Brewery Best Craft Brewery in the Hudson Valley.
The result is not simply a collection of beer labels. It is a brand with enough structure to be recognized and enough freedom to stay interesting—one that has grown alongside the brewery for more than half a decade.
