GOOD IS

VIKINGS

THE VIKINGS

The Vikings’homeland was Scandinavia: modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark. From here they travelled great distances, mainly by sea and river - as far as North America to the west, Russia to the east, Lapland to the north and North Africa and Iraq to the south. We know about them through archaeology, poetry, sagas and proverbs, treaties, and the writings of people in Europe and Asia whom they encountered.

What we call the Viking Age lasted from approximately 800 to 1150 AD, although Scandinavian adventurers, merchants and mercenaries were, of course, active before and after this period. Their expansion during the Viking Age took the form of warfare, exploration, settlement and trade.

The Vikings’homeland was Scandinavia: modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark. From here they travelled great distances, mainly by sea and river - as far as North America to the west, Russia to the east, Lapland to the north and North Africa and Iraq to the south. We know about them through archaeology, poetry, sagas and proverbs, treaties, and the writings of people in Europe and Asia whom they encountered.

The Vikings’homeland was Scandinavia: modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark. From here they travelled great distances, mainly by sea and river - as far as North America to the west, Russia to the east, Lapland to the north and North Africa and Iraq to the south. We know about them through archaeology, poetry, sagas and proverbs, treaties, and the writings of people in Europe and Asia whom they encountered.

During this period, around 200,000 people left Scandinavia to settle in other lands, mainly Newfoundland (Canada), Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, England, Scotland, the islands around Britain, France (where they became the Normans), Sicily. They traded extensively with the Muslim world and fought as mercenaries for the Byzantine emperors of Constantinople (Istanbul). However, by the end of the 11th century the great days of Viking expansion were over.

They were skilled craftsmen and

boat-builders, adventurous explorers and

wide-ranging traders.

THE BEST BITS OF

BEING A VIKING

Even though Viking Beards looked awesome and came in hundreds of different styles (just like hair cuts today), they had no particu-lar religious or tribal meaning part from the fact that they kept the face of each Viking warm in those frosty Scandinavian Winters.At the time, the Vi-kings were the only people in Europe to Bathe, which they did on Saturdays which they called Lördag or Lørdag which meant ‘bath - day’As they were very skilled carpenters they were one of the first to create intri-cate and complex grooming tools, such as combs, tweezers and ear spoons.

VIKING BEARDS

THE BEST BITS OF

BEING A VIKING

THE BEST BITS OF

BEING A VIKING

The richness and energy of Viking design isindisputably equal to that of Celtic design and can be seen in the surviving metalwork, wood-work, textiles, stone and bone carvings and ceramics of the Viking homelands, of Norway, Denmark and Sweden as well as western lands, they colonised Iceland, Northern Scotland, the Isle of Man and Ireland.

The visuals that the Viking created would create some interesting design concepts, the pat-tern are so intricate and elegant and the ancient mythological symbols they used were visually really creative.

VIKING DESIGN / PATTERNS

THE BEST BITS OF

BEING A VIKING

THE BEST BITS OF

BEING A VIKING

The Vikings were known for mostly drinking Mead, ( a thick wine made from fermented honey), but the Vikings were also known for drink-ing Ale, as they were often could farm the ingredients they needed.

Even though they have been known throughout history to be incredibley heavey drinkers, the Vikings actually knew how to control their alchol well, as they had been taught through quotes of their mythical gods that being too drunk could be dangerous.

THE VIKINGS AND THEIR DRINK

THE BEST BITS OF

BEING A VIKING ‘Ölr ek varþ, varþ ofrölviat ens fróþa Fjalars;þvi’s ölþr bazt, at aptr of heimtirhverr sitt geþ gumi.’

Word of the Great Viking god Óðinn.

‘Drunk was I then, I was over-drunk,in the fold of wise Fjalar;But best is an ale feast when a man is ableto call back his wits at once.’

CONCEPT

The Vikings, as a topic, is a pretty broad subject, and as you can see from the research topics on the previous pages, I have chosen distinctly what I believe is good about the Vikings.

By taking the elements previously researched about the Vikings, I aim to

produce a new brand of Ale called ‘Viking’s Beard Ale’.

I intend to give the brand an identity, create a range of bottle/ label designs, beer packaging, promotion for the Ale as well as a range of products that may help appeal to the target audience.

CONCEPT TARGET AUDIENCE

Having looked at the current annual marketing reports for bottled and cask ales for Marston’s Brewery, it seems that the main demographic for ales in general is males between the ages of 35-65. However in recent years, the power of the ale has increased in popularity throughout the younger generations.Therefore, considering the vikings are considered to be a manly figure of power and quality in the ale community. I want aim ‘Viking Beard Ale’ at a

younger, male, middle class audience between the

age of 20-34. Ale is not currently marketed towards this age group and as Ale becomes more popular amongst a younger generation, it seems like a great opportunity to creat an ale that is specifically focused towards this younger audience.

FORMAT

The design of the over all branding will remain as consistent as possible through-out. As I really like the aesthetics of the Viking patterns and symbols, I intend to use my own variation of labels that follow a similar de-sign pattern to that of the Vikings.

As you can see by the examples on the opposite page, using Viking patterns with a transparent back-ground could create some really interest-ing and unique ale packaging visuals, which could grab the attention of the younger audience.

BEER BOTTLE AND LABEL DESIGN

FORMAT Thorleifur Gunnar Gíslason

Nelson

FORMAT

The packaging for the bottle will have to relate closely to the design on the la-bels. I want to try and keep the costs down as much as possible as this is still aimed at a younger audi-ence, even though this will be cheaper than most ales, it will still be more expen-sive to produce than most mainstream lagers.

The packaging must be consistent, but unique and eye catching.

This will also give a good opportunity to try out some differ-ent print processes and finishes.

BEER BOTTLE PACKAGINGDESIGN

FORMAT

FORMAT

I intend to produce quite a broad range of products for this brief, because at the end of the day I am creating a new identity fro a prod-uct that hasn’t been heard of before, so as many products should be created as possible, to give the product a unique selling point as well as the fact that these products could be come collectors items or given away free for promotional material.

- Bottle opener- Bottle sleeve- Beer Mug / vessel- logo / brand- Pub chal board- Pub tap visuals- Promotional poster, billboards, addshells.

PRODUCT RANGE

FORMAT

GOOD IS

VIKINGS