Hugo Araújo’s design innovations stay true to brand
Hugo Araújo’s design innovations stay true to brand
30 March 2023Based in Porto, Hugo Araújo of HAGA Studio leads the way in Portugal’s craft beer design industry, adding a unique character to any creative brief. Working with Portugal’s most respected breweries, beer festivals and publications, Hugo creates eye-catching designs that accurately represent his clients’ vision.
Using varied graphics media, such as vector drawing, digital collage and hand-drawn typography, Hugo’s design concepts are both visually compelling and uniquely memorable. He takes pride in ensuring each artwork successfully captures the consumers' attention while remaining true to the values of his clients’ brand – something that is greatly appreciated in such a competitive market.
From beer festival branding to brewery can art, Hugo’s designs showcase immaculate attention to detail, rightfully cementing his reputation as a critical innovator of Portugal’s progressive craft beer design scene.
Here Hugo provides an insight into his approach to the creative process:
“All projects start with a conversation with the brewer or brand manager to understand the problem they need to solve, what has been done before, the brand's core and selling points, and other inputs they can provide. The next step involves my interpretation of the request and the creation of graphic mood boards with several creative paths that can respond to the presented problem. These moodboards, at an early stage, are essential to validate the way forward and reduce the frustration of both parties throughout the project.”
“What I'm aiming for, more than creating pretty labels, is to create labels that identify and connect with the brand. I'm more than a simple illustrator, I think of all the ways in which the brand can be highlighted and what makes it easily identifiable on a shelf, among the dozens of other brands that will also be there.”
“This is always the main idea behind each work, whether it's a more comprehensive project like the design/redesign of the brand's identity, or the design of an individual label for a specific product. When the brand already has a well-defined visual universe, I try to follow what has already been done to keep the brand recognisable, adding a layer of innovation.”
Find out more about Hugo’s other craft brand designs - from cider and soda, to coffee and kombucha - on socials @haga.pt or at his website
