Having a closer look at the creative process of Neale Payling, illustrator, graphic designer and regular collaborator with the Swedish brewery Stigbergets Bryggeri, it reminds me of why CRAFTED was born. Connecting with creative people, learning from them, continuing to grow and delve into topics such as the intersection between art, design and craft beer, is something that fascinates me. If this is also your case, I encourage you to continue reading.

There is probably not a more popular seagull in the craft beer world than the one Neale created for Stigbergets West Coast IPA. This beer has been with me for years, and in my opinion it deserves to be categorized as a modern classic. Both at content level and at design level.

Stigbergets, which started out brewing beer solely for the Kino restaurant - owned by the brewery's founder -, achieved international fame in 2016, when its “GBG Beer Week 2016” beer was recognized as one of the best IPAs in the world. But Neale's history with the brewery comes from before, more specifically late 2013.

After obtaining his BA (Bachelor of Arts) in graphic design from the University of Huddersfield (UK), and developing his career in various jobs and advertising agencies, Neale decided to move to Sweden. Within a few months, he began collaborating with Stigbergets.

The sensational imagery created by Neale for Stigbergets, which revolves around birds, animals, nature and handwritten fonts, stands out for its subtlety and elegance. And although at first glance it may seem that it avoids the obvious purpose, which would be to attract the attention of the consumer when the beer is on the shelf, there is no doubt that it achieves the desired effect in an intelligent and ingenious way, with designs that not only stand out, but also defines and reinforces the identity of the brand.

That powerful identity, in addition to the quality of the beers, has fueled my admiration for Stigbergets all these years. In the same way that the day I visited the Kino restaurant (Gothenburg) influenced me, and I was able to enjoy a pint of Stigbergets sitting at the bar where it all started.

In any case, I must admit that the initial spark was lit many years ago already after that first bottle with a seagull made by Neale on the label. That is why it is an honor to have his participation in the series Craft Beer and Design. Thanks Neale!

Ø: You are the person responsible for projecting the image of Stigbergets Bryggeri, one of the most recognized breweries not only in Scandinavia but all over the world. I think you have created some of the most iconic and subtle labels in the world of craft beer: West Coast IPA, American Pale Ale, Amazing Haze…

Could you tell us a little about your beginnings with the brewery? What did the process of the visual image for the labels look like? What inspired you when designing the identity of the brand? And on the other hand, from then and until today, in what direction have the message and the artwork in your labels evolved, do you think?

Neale: Wow, such kind words, thanks. I’m definitely not solely responsible for the brewery image, though. There have been a lot of beers over the years with labels that I haven’t made, so the brewery has a pretty broad visual spectrum that I can’t take credit for.

But yeah, I started working with Stigbergets around the end of 2013, a few months after I moved to Sweden. I was struggling to find a job here, but was lucky enough to get introduced to Stigbergets while they were relatively new and were looking for someone to do their labels. I’m still really thankful to my girlfriend’s step sister, who knew the founders of the brewery and was kind enough to suggest that they meet me.

Back then they didn’t have any of their own labels, and were making tap signs themselves with stuff they had downloaded from the internet. I remember in the beginning I presented them with a bunch of different ideas, most of which were pretty bad and thankfully never saw the light of day. A few good things came out of it, though. Including the logo that we still use today, and even one beer label that only came out this year (Studio Session IPA), which was a slight update on one of those super early ideas, seven years later! 

Since then I have gradually worked more and more with the brewery, doing more labels each year as the brewery has grown. The earlier labels were often in the style of old ferry posters, which was inspired by the brewery’s location, which was just a few metres from an old dock where ferries used to transport people to America in the early 1900s. So there were quite a few labels with boats on them. 

After a while the boats became less frequent and were replaced by animals. We never really discussed why this happened, but now there are animals on most of the labels I do. Especially birds. I think I just did one bird label that they liked (West Coast) and we just kind of ran with it since then...

At the start I made everything on the computer, in Adobe Illustrator, but couldn’t quite get the labels to look as I wanted, so even though I had no real experience with painting I forced myself to give it a go, and now I paint almost all the labels by hand.

A lot of the labels are based on ideas that come from the brewery, where I just visualise them. For example, labels like Amazing Haze and New & Improved were ideas from the brewery, where they had a clear idea of the layout. I then draw the typography by hand, which I hope helps keep them in line visually with the painted labels like West Coast or American Pale Ale.

Ø: In your opinion, what qualities do you think a good illustrator and/or graphic designer should have who is interested in working for the craft beer sector?

Neale: Ah, that’s a tough one. I only got into it through a stroke of luck, with the right contact at the right time, so I would take my advice with a pinch of salt!

I guess I try to make labels that people can enjoy looking at after they’ve bought the beer, rather than just something that stands out on the shelf in the moment and generates sales, if that makes sense. Though obviously it’s nice if it stands out too...

Ø: Is it true that often your illustrations are painted with acrylic paint and then manipulated digitally? Can you explain a little what your process is like?

Neale: Yep, that is true! I usually start with a pencil sketch and make sure that the brewery is happy with the overall layout before I start painting. Then yeah, I get the acrylic paint out and paint the basic image (without typography) and either scan it in or take a photo if it’s too large to scan. I do the typography separately with brush pens so that it’s nice and crisp, and scan it in. Then I combine everything in Photoshop and maybe adjust some colours and tidy up inevitable mistakes. I also put together the final artwork in InDesign, based on a pretty simple template that I made a few years ago. That’s it!

Ø: If you had to choose a project from your portfolio that you are most proud of, what would it be and why?

Neale: Ahh, hmm. I think I’m usually most pleased with the most recent stuff, so at the moment it would be a new label that’s coming soon-ish with an Ocelot on it. But it’s hard not to say the west coast seagull, which has kind of taken on a life of its own now, with a series of spin-off beers and merch and stuff. I’m pretty proud of that little guy.

Ø: Do you prefer to face the creative process alone, or as a team?

Neale: Doing the actual work I definitely prefer being alone. But if I had totally free hands to do whatever I want, then I think things would go off the rails really quickly, so I’m happy to have the brewery’s input at the start, and that they always have the final say in what goes out in the end. So we are kind of a team in that way, and it is their brewery after all.

Ø: Which brands and / or graphic designers in the craft beer world do you admire?

Neale: Ah, there’s so many. You already interviewed Nanna from Lervig, whose stuff I really love. Then there’s the big Scandinavian ones that can’t go without mentioning, Mikkeller and Omnipollo. Left Handed Giant and Partizan from the UK. The Veil, Prairie, Forest and Main, Grimm, and Tired Hands from the US. I’m probably forgetting some. But there is a lot of cool stuff out there!

Ø: Finally, can or bottle?

Neale: Can definitely a much easier and more fun format to design for because of the bigger surface, but I do miss bottles!