Client: Three Dreamers Brewing
Role: Creative Director, Designer, Illustrator
Crafting a visual identity rooted in place, story and friendship.
Three Dreamers Brewing began as a passion project between three friends in the heart of the Illawarra. As a start-up brewery, they needed more than just a logo. They needed a brand that captured the flavour of their drinks, the vibe of their community, and the camaraderie that sparked it all.
As their design consultant, I was brought on to shape their visual identity, with a particular focus on logo design and beer can artwork. From day one, the approach was narrative-driven. Each element of the brand needed to tell a story, not just about the beer, but about the place it came from and the people behind it.
The Illawarra as muse
Every can became a canvas for local storytelling. ‘Pipe Dream’ took its cue from the famous surf break at the northern end of Wollongong, combining the energy of a pipe wave with the mood of a night swim. ‘Sandy Blonde’ evoked a laid-back summer’s day at the beach, complete with circling seagulls. And ‘Iron Docks’ anchored us in the city’s industrial heritage, nodding to the steelworks that shaped the region.
But it wasn’t just about capturing local flavour. Each design was also a quiet tribute to the trio behind the brewery. I embedded elements of three throughout: three curls in the wave, three seagulls, three ships, three cranes, and three stars. This ensured that the friendships at the heart of the business was always in frame.
Design that drinks with you
Stylistically, the illustrations shared a cohesive look: hand-drawn, warm, and a little bit whimsical. They felt just as at home on a shelf in a bottle shop as they did in someone’s hand at a beach picnic or backyard barbecue. Each can carried not just a beer, but a sense of place. A kind of portable postcard from Wollongong.
This was branding not as surface-level polish, but as story-driven strategy. It helped a start-up carve out a recognisable, relatable identity in a crowded market. It’s one thing to make something look good. It’s another to make it mean something.