Just like stickers, coasters, or tin tackers, getting your brand’s image on things can help reinforce your brewery into a consumer’s daily life. Now think of how many times a day you look at your phone and the background image you picked. Why not have that image on a consumer’s phone be your logo or a brand of yours?
Junkyard Brewing owner Aaron Juhnke, who does the bulk of the image design for the Moorhead, Minnesota brewery, started posting downloadable wallpapers for phones or other devices on the brewery’s website about two years ago.
“I got the idea for the wallpapers as I was thinking about how people really love the little stickers that we gave away for free in our taproom,” he told Brewer. “I would see those stickers on people’s phones, their laptops, their water bottles, and coffee mugs and all kinds of stuff like that.”
What started with the brewery logo and two brands has grown to more than 30 available.
Juhnke said it’s been a while since the last update with new wallpapers but when he launched it, he researched optimal pixel size to make sure it would look good for people to use as background wallpaper on phones. Most are the logos for the beer brand and don’t even specifically point to Junkyard as a brewery. But that can create conversation if someone sees the logo on a phone and helps true word-of-mouth advertising.
More of a fun project than a marketing plan, Juhnke said they don’t track downloads to see which designs are most popular.
“I am not really interested in which ones are the most popular because I don’t think it would affect which ones will get posted for download in the future,” he said. “However it might be fun to know which are the most popular just for curiosity.”
Juhnke does all of the label designs with a few exceptions and some assistance from others on certain logos.
“For example, Leah did the artwork for Mom‘s Not Home and Ask Your Father, which are two cookie-based beers and she did a great job with a bit different style artwork than I usually use,” Juhnke said. “Leah is a graphic designer in her day job. She used to work in our taproom when it was open to the public and her boyfriend Michael— a.k.a. Big Mike — works in our packaging team.
“I have also adapted some of my daughters’ doodles and sketches, turning them into beer logos such as King Size, Tony’s Big Show, Queen Size, and Wake Up Late.”
Juhnke said he doesn’t really know a way to describe the brewery’s style.
“I’m just trying to make bold artwork that really grabs your attention and stands out on a shelf even when it is placed alongside thousands of other beer labels,” he said.
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