VAUX Brewery

The VAUX brief provides students with the opportunity to work for a live brand, demonstrating individual strengths and interests through an iconic Sunderland-based name. VAUX has been an important asset to Sunderland culturally for the best part of 200 years – opening in 1806 as ‘C. Vaux & Sons’ and operating until its closure in 1999. The VAUX buildings were vacated and demolished, with the VAUX Quarter of Sunderland set for redevelopment as part of the Riverside Sunderland Masterplan from 2014.

Relaunched in 2019, VAUX Brewery now calls Monk Street home, and seeks to breathe life into a once iconic brand. The brief asks that students reflect the pride and passion surrounding VAUX’s history, whilst incorporating a modern, contemporary twist through a range of six can designs and accompanying assets. A stand out design was required for German pilsner ‘Alter Ego’, with my response featuring photographic, collage, illustrative and print outcomes.

VAUX x GRD3

Using the universities dye sublimation heat transfer press, I printed a keg badge for each of the chosen can designs and two variations of silicon bar runner. All printed assets were displayed within a realistic ‘bar’ that was built in the exhibition space on the ground floor of Priestman Building; this space was internally fit out by the design technicians, then populated as a group project by all Stage 3 Graphic Design students. We invited shareholders and staff from the brewery to the VAUX x GRD3 space to showcase our outcomes.