The Man Behind The Beer Label

At a time where AI art is beginning to rise in popularity, we are starting to see more and more small businesses and breweries lean on it for their graphic design, marketing, and label art.

While some may be able to justify this due to the difference in cost, I still believe that can art, and graphic design play a major role on store shelves, and is a decision factor for many consumers. While they may not realize it, art is a significant factor in the process of designing a recipe, brewing a beer, and marketing it to consumers.

I wanted to pull back the curtain, out of my own curiosity, and learn more about the process, and what goes into a can label design, so I tapped on the shoulder of someone I have had the pleasure of getting to know in the industry here in MN.

Meet Marcus Paulsen, Marketing and Artistic Director for Lupulin Brewing Company in Big Lake, Minnesota. His story is pretty similar to other folks in the industry - he never really expected to work in the beer industry.

Back in 2014, Marcus was working for a motorsports graphics company; Think custom decals and graphics for things like dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and fourwheelers. He had a friend that asked him if he wanted to go to an event he saw on Facebook - a few homebrewers in the neighborhood were hosting a tasting out of their garage. While not much of a beer drinker, aside from your typical macro beer, Marcus tagged along. He learned they were working on opening up a taproom and production space in Big Lake. Their labels and logo at the time were very bare bones, so Marcus offered his freelance services, and said he was willing to work for beer. They had a deal.

He started by designing the logo they use today, and it continues to influence a lot of his designs, and can labels. Once the brewery got established, and started seeing some success, they brought Marcus on full time, and the rest is history. He has literally been there from the very start!

Those familiar with Lupulin beer, know it as soon as they see it. That signature colorful, swirly, drippy, droppy, gloopy art style, all centered around the iconic, bold hop outline logo. Thanks to Marcus, Lupulin has put together a cohesive, engaging, and recognizable brand that consumers will notice and trust on shelves.

The process typically starts with a request for a label for a beer coming out in a few weeks, and a (usually) crazy name that the fellas in the brew house have already brainstormed. With that to go off of, he gets started.

How does he come up with art for each beer? It's pretty simple - stay up late, drink a lot of caffeine, smoke some weed, and come up with something crazy. To my surprise, there are not many hoops to jump through when it comes to the design process, and revisions. Marcus has free reign, and the brewers and ownership trust that he will deliver a killer label for their beer.

While I love the general themes and style of Marcus's labels, there are a few that stick out as some of my favorites. Fashion Mullet is my number one - such a great design, the way it makes it look like the can is his head, the soul patch in the shape of the lupulin logo, and the toothpick to top it off.

The others are the different variations of the Alliterative Animals line of Triple IPAs, but my favorite of that bunch has to be Flatulent Flamingo. You can tell this series really lets Marcus have fun with it, and come up with something goofy, and the brewers really set it up well for him!

I'm not the only one that loves Marcus' can designs either - He has racked up countless awards for his work, both from his peers in the local Minnesota beer industry, and nationally as well! Marcus has won so many Crushie Awards, Lupulin had to build a trophy case to hold them all. Now that's some hardware!

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Next time you reach for a can on the shelf, remember this. Remember how much time, thought, and talent goes into creating a memorable label, before the can even has beer in it. Remember the people behind the art, putting that special touch and personal style into each one. Say no to AI art. Support local breweries that support local art!