Craft beer brand Panhead has unveiled a brand refresh and new packaging system created in partnership with independent brand design agency Weave.
The brand identified an opportunity to re-evaluate Panhead’s role in an increasingly competitive craft beer category, appointing Weave to reinvigorate its brand strategy, refresh the identity and redesign Panhead’s packaging portfolio.
The result is “Beer, Engineered,” a new strategic positioning that reframes Panhead’s “garage-built heritage”. The new brand system will extend across all touchpoints, including packaging, communications, and retail experiences.
The redesign retains Panhead’s most recognizable brand assets while enhancing them to align with the brand’s new strategic positioning. A refined wordmark, redrawn winged pint icon, new typography and approach to color, plus a modernized design system, create greater consistency across the portfolio, while a predominantly black can architecture strengthens shelf impact and improves brand blocking.
The refreshed system also introduces a gradient treatment for the Hazy range, creating clear navigation while maintaining a cohesive family identity.
Dan Cookson, Executive Creative Director at Weave, said the opportunity was to evolve rather than reinvent.
“Panhead already had enormous brand equity. Our role was to sharpen what made the brand distinctive, creating a brand system that’s more confident, more consistent and better aligned with the way Panhead thinks, builds and brews,” said Cookson.
“Beer, Engineered gives Panhead a strategic platform that can extend well beyond packaging while staying true to the grit and ingenuity that made the brand iconic.”
“Panhead has earned its place as New Zealand’s leading luxury craft beer brand through the quality of its beer and the strength of its personality,” said Kristin Paddy, Senior Brand Manager at Panhead.
“This evolution strengthens those equities, creating a more premium, cohesive brand experience that will help drive recognition and growth for years to come. The new brand system has been designed to improve navigation across the portfolio, strengthen shelf recognition and support premium pricing in an increasingly crowded craft beer category.”
Panhead’s refreshed identity launches nationally this month across the full brand portfolio, before rolling out across retail, brand communications and consumer experiences.
Credits
Client:
Todd Gordon: Lion New Zealand – Brand Director, Beer
Kristin Paddy: Panhead – Senior Brand Manager
Weave:
Executive Creative Director: Daniel Cookson
Design Director: Michael Longton
Creative Strategy Director: Amber Groves
Senior Designer: Ryan Psaila
Designer: Mike Lam
Production Director: Matt Bowman
Managing Director: Marijana Simunovic
Account Director: Ashley Ng
Partner credits:
Renders: Visual State
Studio Photography: Hugh Davison
Lifestyle Photography: Field Studios
