News / 12 Mar 2025
Graphic Design students work with Northern Monk brewery
BA (Hons) Graphic Design
First year BA (Hons) Graphic Design students had the opportunity to work on a fictional brief with Northern Monk brewery for their new Northern Icons range.
Students were challenged to deliver branding for three new IPA’s inspired by the rich cultural history of the North of England, exploring landmarks, architecture, artists, musicians and other cultural icons.
The design task was set by Northern Monk’s Head of Design Jon Simmons. The students were asked to deliver three labels, three 440ml can mock-ups, and one glassware mock up for the Northern Icons series, which needed to include at least one alcohol free IPA. They had to work within Northern Monk’s brand guidelines, and incorporate the Northern Monk logo within their design.
"It's always a pleasure being asked to get involved with the graphic design students at Leeds Arts University. Each time we've set them a design brief to work on, the students have always tackled this in a variety of different ways resulting in the final executions showcasing a wide range of concepts and styles. It's also great to hear their enthusiasm when talking about the design rationale behind their work."
Jon Simmons, Head of Design, Northern Monk
Northern Monk are a Leeds based craft brewery. Since 2013 they have brewed over 900 different beers across a range of different styles from lagers and IPA’s to stouts and wild beer.
"The inspiration for my design came from a recent rewatch of 24 Hour Party People and I decided to pick three New Order album/single covers all designed by Peter Saville and released by Factory Records. I’ve worked with craft beer for the last couple of years so I loved getting to work on a live brief combining three of my favourite things; beer, music and design. I love the Northern Monk brewery too so it was fun getting to present our ideas there and I found it really helpful getting direct feedback from Jon and hearing his thoughts on how effectively our designs would translate to the shelves."
Immie Hartley, BA (Hons) Graphic Design student
"My experience working on the brief for Northern Monk was really positive. Working from a live brief gave me an insight to the process of working with clients and gave us all the opportunity to ask questions if we needed to. The brief was to design a beer can inspired by the North and my approach was to feature endangered animals located in northern England. I’ve always been really passionate about animals so it gave me the chance to design something to promote the conservation of certain species. I really enjoyed working on this brief. It was great to be able to go and visit Northern Monk and receive feedback from a member of their team! "
Abbie Flint, BA (Hons) Graphic Design stduent
“I really liked working on the Northern Monk project, working with a live brief allowed me to learn how to consider a brand's requirements and guidelines.”
Will Leach, BA (Hons) Graphic Design student