Magnolia Brewing is a brand long steeped in the culture of its location in San Francisco’s historic Haight Ashbury neighborhood. Magnolia’s original founder and brewmaster Dave McLean’s vision back in 1997 was to create an inviting neighborhood pub inspired by traditional English ales paired with sophisticated takes on gastropub fare. The building that houses Magnolia’s original basement-built brewery was built in 1903 and has lived many past lives as a grocery store, pharmacy, and most notably in the 70s as an erotic ice cream parlor named after iconic burlesque dancer and then owner Magnolia Thunderpussy.

The opportunity to refresh Magnolia’s identity came as the brewery grew from its original Haight St. brewery into a new 10,000 sq. ft. production facility and second restaurant in San Francisco’s Dogpatch Neighborhood on the east edge of the city. Our solution was to celebrate Magnolia’s storied past and the long-gone era of late 1960s Haight St. culture with a vibrant and layered visual identity. Our ethos for the rebrand, "Trippy, not Hippy,” gave us a way to explore a lucid visual style that feels like a fresh interpretation of 60’s psychedelia while leaving the cliche symbols of the times in the past. The resulting brand has a fresh and striking visual clarity that is energetic and spontaneous and continues to revolve in a sort of kaleidoscopic daze as the brand grows.