Initial pitch
Big Top Brewing’s new Okobee American Pale Ale has an immense pack of underwater guardians front and center, a dramatic label that leaves an impression.
While a well designed label on its own, Okobee had to stand out among stiff competition in the craft brew aisle. Big Top wanted the flame graphic in the label to somehow appear brighter and flicker like a real fire, and the water background to ripple like natural ocean waves.
Prototyping for the client
LTI, the converter for this label, needed a solution that could meet these requests. They approached Fathom Optics, as the range of Fathom Effects had the ideal capabilities to meet the client’s spec.
LTI’s production designer uploaded the Okobee label to Fathom Designer, which allowed them to begin testing with a whole range of various effects. Dropping design files into Fathom Designer for previews on a 3D can made iteration quick, and they were able to create exactly what Big Top was looking for.
Honing the effect
Some experimentation remained to get the most out of the effect, with which we gladly assisted LTI.
The pattern size of Fathom’s effects can be modified to suit a design. But there is an ideal size, usually based on the area specified to hold the effect. In the case of the Okobee design it was mostly a full fluid effect with the exception of the center figure. If the effect is too small, it could look chaotic, but too big of an effect may be hard to see. We picked the conclusive size to get appropriate movement in the top rays of the light and glowing fire at the same time.
Now, when using Fathom’s embellishments, the background colors need to be slightly adjusted. Fathom Effects are made of layered ink so all background colors should be brightened to compensate. Fathom recommended three possible overprint variations to the original design that included these brightened backgrounds.
After reviewing the collective feedback, Big Top chose the third option. The lighter red was preferred for the bottom flame, in contrast to the cool dark blues that surround it.
Then it was off to production. If you’re in Florida you can grab some Okobee cans (or draughts) and enjoy labels that ripple and shift—even while sober.