The outside of MadTree’s cans remind us that brewing is an art. Blacksmith Christopher Daniel created the brewery’s tree logo, and art director John Pattison managed the can design, but they called in help to give each beer its own look.
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
Psychopathy
“They wanted something Rorschach, dark, spooky, and uncomfortable—what ‘psychopath’ brings to mind. The Rorschach aesthetic lent itself to foliage. It was fun to make a whole bunch of ink blots and try to figure out how to control the design.” – Margaret Weiner, graphic designer, illustrator, member of The Seedy Seeds
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
Happy Amber
“Since it was one of the first cans, they wanted it a little more straightforward, and happier. So I thought: What’s the happiest face that can be made from a tree? And I realized the foliage could be the hat, and a shadow could give dimension to the face. And looking at it, I think you have to wonder, Why is this guy laughing?” – Tom Post, freelance illustrator
Sprye
“For Sprye, it’s about spring, rebirth—and it needs to be dark. So it was this weird curveball: How do I create something vibrant, springtime-y, but dark? Rams are a symbol of rebirth, and the skull gets the darkness in, but the horns as trees with leaves budding back to life give the springtime feel.” – Anthony “Tank” Mansfield, Christian Moerlein taproom manager, former high school art teacher, illustrator and painter
Gnarly Brown
“The guys wanted a definite face to the tree, and we wanted a sense of movement, which got my mind in that grain of doing a dancing tree. It needed to look old and gnarly and crazy, this creature out in the middle of nowhere whooping it up, this beer-drinking, dancing tree. I’m a big dark beer drinker, so I was happy that’s what I was designing for.” – Richard Biever, 3-D artist, photo retoucher, illustrator
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
Sol Drifter
“I’m in the Coast Guard, and I was on a boat when MadTree contacted me to design the can—with five days to complete it. To me, the beer name and description immediately had a ghostly appeal. Knowing it needed to be a silhouette and wanting a laid-back-but-eerie feel, I went with a traditional tall ship, turning the sails into branches. ” – Nicholas Sturges, Gunner’s Mate First Class in the U.S. Coast Guard, hobbyist tattoo designer
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
The Great PumpCan
“With PumpCan, it was a fall beer, so I played with the idea of what’s happening in that season. I always look for a simple solution with a nice silhouette that incorporates the idea of a tree. And I make sure that it’s something you can create a conversation around.” – Tom Post, freelance illustrator
Photographs by Aaron M. Conway/OMS
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