The
Local Taproom
For many people, the Covid-19 lockdown was a time of reflection and contemplation. A time to refocus on what’s important now, and what future we want to create for ourselves. A time to revisit old ideas and dream up new ones.
We first video chatted with Chris and Carly in early October, soon after they had struck on the idea of opening a craft beer taproom in Bacchus Marsh.
They had a vision of the sort of place they wanted to create. More importantly, they knew what feelings of warmth, friendliness and hospitality, they wanted their brand to evoke for the Bacchus Marsh townsfolk.
Our job at Create & Co was to design the visual elements and find the words to turn their vision into a living brand.
For a bar or restaurant, the building and location play an essential role in the expression of the brand. Unable to visit the actual site due to CO-VID restrictions, all we had was the Google Street View of the building as it looks today, and online archives to research its past.
I don’t remember exactly where we found it, a grainy faded photo of a shopfront in Bacchus Marsh in 1900. The sign said Gulline Bros Grocery and Ironmongers, Established 1891. The match wasn’t apparent at first because of the angle of the photo. But yes, it was the same roofline, the identical spacing of the pillars of the awning. It was the same building 120 years earlier with horse and buggies out front, and men and boys standing around with bikes.
It was as if they were waiting for the taproom to open.
The Local Taproom logo had to possess a timelessness; as if it had always been there on the Grant Street façade. However, this was a new venture and one with deep, personal significance to owners Chris and Carly. We created a unique typeface for “The Local” logo so the capital letters of could hold design elements that had particular significance to the Lambert Family.
The colours copper, carbon and beige are warm and comforting—the copper echoing the icy cold taps of the taproom bar. The colours allow the brand to appear contemporary yet bathed in the heritage of its location.
