Design Bridge repositions Mexican beer Bohemia to emphasise Czech provenance

The consultancy worked on packaging for brand owner Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma in 2006, securing the Bohemia project during a UK Trade & Industry trip for business leaders in 2008 to Mexico, where Design Bridge director John Morris gave an address.

Morris says he deconstructed the brand during workshops and sought to redesign it to include Bohemia Weizen – Mexico’s first wheat beer – alongside two existing products.

The national identity of the beer has been re-established, according to Morris, who says it had become ’Americanised’. Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec leader, is depicted in the logo with an eagle head dress in a bid to ’reclaim the marque,’ says Morris.

A bespoke typeface, Bohemia Bastarda, reflects the Czech influence of the brand, which has been brewed in Mexico since 1905, but can trace its origin to the Bohemia brewing region.

Browns, reds, creams and a hammered gold effect, which the consultancy says are traditional decorative colours for the Aztecs, are used across the range.

The repositioned brand is being rolled out across packaging, retail environments and print advertising. ’Sensorial code’ guidelines have been developed, ’which even include the music played in bars’, says Morris.