Merakai

Merakai Brewing Co. is a UK based startup brewery with a unique passion for discovery, inclusivity and community (not the usual personality traits of a brewer). The name Merakai is formed from a combination of ‘Meraki’ (Greek – meaning “something of yourself”) and ‘Ikigai’ (Japanese – meaning  "a reason for being”). Both mantras that inspired brewer and business owner Oliver Parsons and Emma O'Neill-Parsons to setup on their own and that also formed part of the design brief.

The Merakai logo was inspired by a combination of both Greek iconography and Japanese typography to create a custom ‘Merakai’ wordmark symbol.

This was coupled with a neutral colour palette of black, white and gold (used as a highlight) representing the quality of taste within the beers themselves and a further nod to the geographic influences of the brand. This simple colour range also contrasted well with beer label visuals and illustrations utilising bright and rich colours.

The orientation of the symbol itself was designed for maximum visibility on typical portrait can and bottle applications. A wider, more extended typeface was chosen to contrast the vertical mark and further customised to enhance the design attributes within the symbol.

Following completion of the identity we supported Merakai in the roll-out of the brand across labels, packaging and point of sale working with conceptual illustrations for the launch product range. We further supported on the marketing of new beers including animated and static social media graphics.

Motel have enjoyed seeing the Merakai brand take-off with, more recently, a new taproom – and can vouch, first-hand, for the diversity and quality of taste with their unique range of beers!