Companies are increasingly recognizing the power of well-told stories for their brands. After all, a strong narrative conveys far more than just  product benefits. It can convey values and evoke emotions. However, the appeal of a story is not only conveyed by letters, but increasingly also by the fascination of images. Is illustrated storytelling developing into a sustainable phenomenon in branding?

The assumption is obvious. In the last few decades, technical innovations have repeatedly helped such trends along. Just as Photoshop changed the way of how design was dibe decades ago, Procreate could play such a role for storytelling in brand design today. Procreate is a digital painting and illustration app used on a tablet that has become a favorite of designers in the market. Its advantage is its simple and intuitive usability. Elaborate work that would otherwise take days can now be created and incorporated relatively quickly.  

At Higgins Design, we believe Procreate is a game changer for the increasingly visible narrative illustration style in brand design. In our search for brand-building elements away from the usual product illustrations, we too are taking advantage of the app in our daily work. In the process, we discovered that traditional brands like Hacker-Pschorr in particular can benefit enormously from a modern visual story.

The narrative brand bracket preserved a total of 600 years of beer history and at the same time made it fit for the future. Focusing around the concept of "tradition meets transition", we further developed the design from the brand character. The central fixed point is a contemporary illustrated alpine panorama that tells a powerful story with the Hacker-Pschorr brand name and the claim "Bavaria's Heaven": Bavaria is more than home. Bavaria is an attitude to life. This story links all the varieties, which have been  staged with different motifs, to create a fresh, appealing brand bracket.

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