Design Bridge creates new harp icon for Guinness

Design Bridge has created a new harp icon for Guinness, redrawing the brand mark in collaboration with traditional harp makers Niebisch & Tree, letter press studio New North Press and illustrator Gerry Barney.

According to the London-based agency, the new design “conveys the true craftsmanship and history behind Guinness’s distinctive beers that set it apart from the recent wave of new, craft beers, while also resonating with the next generation of drinkers.”

The harp image was created by the agency through making 3D models based on its initial sketches with Niebisch & Tree. Design Bridge says: “This collaborative process allowed the team to fully immerse themselves in the harp’s shape and form, from the characteristic curve of the harmonic neck to the way shadows are cast on the instrument, ensuring their design looked and felt as authentic as possible.”

Illustrator Gerry Barney, who had drawn a previous version of the Guinness harp in 1968,  was then brought in to draw the new harp icon based on Design Bridge’s sketches; and New North Press worked with the agency to create a physical impression of the mark by overlaying different colours, textures and techniques including embossing, foil block and metallic inks.