Branding • Packaging • Social • Motion
Video & Photography by Brent Baxter

When Deep Ellum Brewing expanded their beer portfolio with a hard seltzer inspired by "Ranch Water," a popular West Texas cocktail, the challenge was pulling off an authentic West Texas-esque brand as a brewery based in Dallas. By playing into Dallas' city slicker identity and obsession with patio pastimes, we created a brand that's honest, playful, and authentic.

The brand's lettering is an "alphabet soup" of cattle brand symbols with a uniquely colorful can inspired by agave and West Texas heat. It's a show stopper on shelves and a stand-out in the brewery's beer and seltzer portfolio. The design is filled with quirky one-liners that reinforce the brand unserious and incredibly self-aware nature that delight consumers.

With the success of patio water we introduced new flavors to keep the momentum going. The expanded color palette was inspired by western landscapes and plants such as west texas plains, summer heat, and agave plants. With the addition of Chilton, Sweet Heat, and Paloma, the "City Slicker" pack was complete.

To promote the new flavors, we were inspired by one of the most boring and grueling drives to exist – a  West Texas road trip – where the only things you'll see for miles are tumble weeds and road signs. The posters took cues from these sometimes hopeful signs to promise that there are "happier hours ahead" when you finally arrive.