Seasonal
refreshments

Julebrus — Christmas soda — is an important Yuletide tradition in Norway. Each year, millions of liters are sold in the time leading up to Christmas eve. When renowned Trondheim-based brewery Austmann Bryggeri set out to launch one of their own, I was asked to illustrate the label.

The initial brief called for something distinctly Trondheim, leading most sketches to center around Gamle Bybro and Bakklandet — except for this one throwaway sketch of a nisse, a hare, and a fox marching along.

The illustration needed to feel classic yet fresh, festive but not overly cliché. The nisse was replaced with a julebukk-goer. Her tail a nod to old folklore and a link to Austmann’s established mythical universe of Sasquatch, mermaids, and trolls.

Stylistically, we combined bold, simple shapes with a painterly, tactile execution. Inspiration came from 1950s and '60s illustration and animation, drybrush gouache techniques, Mid-Century Modern stylization, and, of course, traditional Norwegian Christmas cards.

Design and project management by Skogen.