A close friend of mine created this hub for beer lovers aptly titled “Beers In Boston”.  Users are treated with up to the minute news and events listings from bars and breweries based in the Greater Boston area.  This is all accomplished by using a comprehensive approach to social media, where Twitter and Facebook function as users primary news feeds, with the actual site used for direct user interaction.  Users write reviews, guest blog on site at events, and participate in topical discussions using WordPress’s powerful commenting system.

Branding for Social Media

With such a wide reaching stream on multiple social channels I needed to approach the logo design with that in mind.  Catering to an avatar became the focus, as 90% of all users would see this small square everyday, multiple times.  Whether designers like it or not, these social media icons are here to stay – which is something we all need to keep in mind when designing.  Brands should always have a memorable square cut; an arrangement or cropping of a piece of the logo that becomes a symbol, but now that cut needs to fully encompass what you do.  From this mindset, the Beers In Boston Icon was born.

Anyone that knows Boston well knows that they pride themselves on the rustic appeal of the hundreds of pubs the downtown area features.  They love that dirty water.  Which to me is code for, beer rules and we drink a ton of it.  So we needed this icon to feature a pint, because without the pint there is no need for this logo, or the site.  The pint is king, and the pint filled to the brim with Sam Adams is god.

Expanding the Logo’s Reach

One of the great things about the concept of Beers In Boston is it’s viral growth potential.  Like any great online community, the service is the differentiator.  Thousands of well-funded on-line start-up companies blast onto the scene every year and only a handful can boast positive results.  The trouble with most of these companies is that they attempt to compete with a mega site, such as youtube, facebook, flickr, etc.  But with Beers in Boston, there is a specific niche they play to; beer lover’s.  Best part of this approach – there are beer fans in every nook & cranny of this great nation of ours.  So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Beers in Boston has expanded into a couple other northeastern metropolis’ New York City and Washington DC.

Both Beers in NYC and Beers in D.C. needed to be set apart from Boston, which could have meant a total re-branding, but that would just not make sense.  Instead, we simply skinned the existing logo with more appropriate color schemes.  NYC received a sleek blue and gray hue which let’s users know that, yes we are in touch with your city.  NYC bars are extravagant, modern, and they worship this little baseball team called the YANKEES.  Logic dictated NYC, while a winning color combination won us over on D.C.  The lite yellow and red somehow says D.C. why it does, not sure.  The color scheme does reflect the Redskins look – but most people don’t even know the Skins are based in D.C.  I guess the simplest thing is to chalk it up to happenstance.

Keep an eye open for more Beers In Boston spinoff’s in the future.  And in the meantime – check out BeersInBoston.com and follow them on Twitter, they will make sure you always have plans for your weekend.