Threes Brewing Brews Identity Through Design and Distinction

Threes Brewing has made a name for itself by not being like the others, from their distinctive names and flavours to the pulsing baselines that emanate from their taproom. Instead of designing packaging that looks longingly at the bigger brands, or embracing overly traditional shapes and labels, they look to the simplicity, smarts, and yes, fun, of graphic design’s great forebears.

Threes has become a local institution—not just a place to enjoy beer, company and award-winning cuisine, but a hub for music, poetry, art, and community. Since 2014, its founders have been dedicated to beer that expresses time-tested traditions, with designs that look as flavourful as they taste.

Threes Brewing began with the establishment of the original brewpub and taproom in Gowanus, Brooklyn, where Stephen Niedzwiecki, creative co-founder of Yard NYC had lived at the time. He loved the brand idea and saw an opportunity to help build and define Threes as a distinctive brand in the marketplace. He started by leaning into where Threes Brewing was born.

He took photographs of the Gowanus Canal, using its waters and movements, combined with graphics based on mid-century Western European poster designs—like those from the Bauhaus, and Swiss designer Josef Müller-Brockmann, a pioneer of the International Typographic Style—to develop the graphic packaging that would help set Threes cans apart. This graphic approach, with clean lines, bold colours, and clever illustrations, is a masterful adaptation of classic styles, and manages to captivate, relate back to Threes' iconoclastic names for their beers, and yet capture its deep ties to the neighbourhood. Stephen's original mood boards for Threes contain much of Müller-Brockmann’s work, whom Stephen actually met when he was a student in the late 1980s. 'It changed my life,' he said.

In collaboration with Yard, NYC, Gowanus sensation Threes Brewery is now launching four new labels for the brand’s newest craft beer offerings: Wink Wink west coast pilsner; Illogical Conclusion dry-hopped double IPA; All or Everything West coast IPA; and Shapeless Days summer seasonal pilsner.

The project originated from the desire to represent Threes birthplace, staying true to its roots in the Brooklyn area. Once a small local brewery, far from the company’s current status, the beer took centre stage. The brewery wanted to emulate that with their newest offerings, by making the playful imagery and product the focus rather than the brand name.

“I wanted the cans to look like mini pieces of art, like they could have easily been a book cover or poster,” said Stephen, who looked all the way back to the Bauhaus, and then Dutch and Swedish poster design of the 1940s, 50s and 60s for inspiration. The colourful, playful but balanced graphic images delight and match the wit of the beers’ names (such as Unreliable Narrator, Fools Errand, and Bad Wallpaper) as they capture your eye.

In the four new labels, Stephen did not want to deviate from these graphic and pleasing directions.

A pool cue, in classic 2H pencil orange, lines up an eight-ball over undulating green and blue waves for Wink Wink, a knowing nod to their West Coast Pilsner drinkers.

Illogical Conclusion, their DDH Hazy Double IPA, features orange and yellow illustrated fists, giving a thumbs up (or is it down?) as they circle the letters on the can.

All or Everything, a West Coast IPA

Shapeless Days, a seasonal pilsner for the summer time, features a shapely swimmer, or the leggy half of her that is not submerged in the easy orange waters coloured by the sun setting in the distance, as if to say, in a winky way: 'Bottoms up.'

Threes Brewing’s rise has been defined by authenticity and innovation. Named 'Best Brewery and Beer Bar in New York City' by Bon Appétit, the brand has become a fixture in the local food and drink scene—with beverage branding designs to back it up.

What started as 'the little taproom that could' has grown into a brand with national impact, distributing to more than 700 bars, restaurants, and stores across New York and 30+ states. Its unique combination of inventive flavour, purposeful design, and neighbourhood loyalty makes Threes Brewing a unique and timeless favourite, demonstrating why the company has grown exponentially.