Branding Project
Grado Plato - Twisted Tales on Tap
Created for:
Grado Plato Brewery
in collaboration with
Marta Monge (Design Partner), Enrica Maggiora (Photography)
Role:
Tools:
Adobe Suite, Procreate
A bold rebrand for Grado Plato®, a craft brewery in Chieri, Italy, aimed at capturing its experimental spirit and storytelling culture. I co-led the visual design and illustration, creating a new identity and label system that stood out on shelves while honoring the brand’s roots.
The challenge
Grado Plato needed a brand refresh that would reflect its growing reputation without losing its unfiltered, local charm. The goal was to enhance shelf presence and visual cohesion across its expanding product line while maintaining a quirky, story-driven identity.
Concept & Strategy
We started with the core values: tradition + experimentation. The visual language combined strong typographic choices with colorful, narrative-driven illustrations. The logo was updated to maintain recognition but with a bolder typographic voice. We also selected a typeface, Stonewall 50, that subtly echoed the brand’s rebellious edge and Pride values.
Visual Development
& Design System
We replaced the original yellow/black contrast with a deep blue and extended the palette to support richer storytelling. Label illustrations were crafted to convey hyperbolic interpretations of the beer names, mixing real-life stories with surreal, witty visuals. Each beer maintained its own visual universe while aligning under the new system.
Deliverables
New logotype with geometric cuts echoing fermenter angles
Colorful, full-bleed illustrated beer labels for each SKU
Shelf-facing unified identity for better brand recognition
Merchandise and packaging design concepts to support in-store marketing
Although the new identity wasn't finally produced, due some difficulties outside the scope of the project. The project was appreciated by the whole Grado Plato community, for a special edition project.
Lessons & Next Steps
Building brand cohesion doesn’t mean suppressing personality — this project showed how expressive visuals can coexist with structured systems. A future phase could include expanding the label system for limited editions and seasonal brews.
This project affirmed that storytelling through illustration can elevate even the most established local brands. With the right tone and a fearless visual language, we were able to give Grado Plato a refreshed voice that still felt like an old friend.
