San Francisco Beer Week
Objective
Each year, the Bay Area Brewers Guild brings together breweries from across the region for San Francisco Beer Week: a celebrated, high-profile event that showcases the creativity and community spirit of Northern California’s craft beer scene. In 2022, with COVID still disrupting in-person experiences, the challenge was to re-energize the event brand, build engagement across digital and physical channels, and support strong event sales in an evolving landscape.
The additional complexity? Uniting 15 independent breweries, each with its distinct voice and aesthetic, under one cohesive system that still honored individuality.
Scope
Seasonal Theme & Visual Concepting
Packaging & Label Design
Poster, Swag, and POS Materials
Scalable Visual Toolkit
The Solution
Our approach: design a flexible visual identity toolkit that celebrated the spirit of collaboration over competition.
Barretto-Co. was tasked with thinking “systematically.” We developed a visual vocabulary that emphasized shared values: creativity, caring, and community, all deeply embedded in the Bay Area brewing culture.
The system included thematic ideation and seasonal artwork that could scale across point-of-sale materials, limited-edition packaging, event swag, and social promotions. Each brewery received space to infuse its flavor while still fitting within the broader visual framework. We created cohesive designs for posters, beer labels, merchandise, and displays, ensuring a consistent presence across retail and taproom experiences.
Typography, color palette, and illustrative elements were chosen to evoke warmth and approachability, making the brand feel as inviting as the beer itself.
Impact
The 2022 campaign helped unify a fragmented event landscape into a singular, recognizable experience, boosting visibility, sales, and participation.
It reinforced SF Beer Week’s role not just as a celebration, but as a symbol of collective creativity.
The Typography
The Toolkit
The Posters
The Beer Labels
The Swag
