Brand & Packaging Design for Baadshah Lager
Magic Malts, an Indian craft brewing firm, collaborated with UnFoldMart to introduce Baadshah, their signature Golden Indian Lager, into a beer market characterized by a mix of global mass-market brands and a burgeoning premium craft segment. The challenge they faced was that many Indian craft beer labels either mimic Western styles (with faux-European pub aesthetics) or use traditional motifs merely as decoration without embodying Indian identity. Magic Malts aimed for Baadshah to represent a territory that is distinctly Indian, upscale without descending into kitsch, and visually striking amidst competitors on store shelves and bars. We began by establishing the brand identity from the name itself. "Baadshah," meaning emperor or king, set the foundation for the creative direction. A custom logotype in a regal blackletter style was developed, accompanied by a more refined secondary typeface, Pollyester Regular. The central brand illustration features a richly adorned Mughal-inspired elephant, intricately detailed and rendered in a warm autumnal palette of saffron yellow, ember orange, deep red, and pink, reflecting the vibrant colors of the Indian festive season. The packaging system extended this identity to the cans, showcasing the elephant design, a falling-leaf motif, and dramatic cloud illustrations, giving each element a cinematic and almost mythical quality. The comprehensive brand toolkit includes the logo system, typography structure, illustration library, packaging designs, and a complete color and texture system that can be adapted for new variants and materials as the brand expands. The outcome is a craft beer brand that fits seamlessly in a high-end Indian restaurant in Berlin, a craft bottle shop in Bangalore, and a beer section in California, all while maintaining its essential heritage.