GREAT NORTHERNRefreshing Australia's Favourite Beer
- Brand Identity
Originating in Cairns back in 1927, Great Northern has grown to become Australia’s favourite beer. Synonymous with road trips, fishing weekends, and knock-off beers in the summer sun, as much as the GN brand had successfully embedded itself in Australian culture - it perhaps didn’t quite yet own the icon status it deserved. Our challenge was to modernise the identity without losing its easygoing spirit. To achieve this, we ‘unleashed the marlin’, recast ‘Up Here’ as a mindset rather than a location, and rebuilt the design system from the ground up enabling Great Northern to confidently cast its reel into the future.
We began by unleashing the power of the Marlin. This symbol, used by drinkers to refer to the beer (“grab us a white fish”), had never been fully realised as a brand asset. We redrew it by hand, refining details and rebalancing form to create a sharper, stronger icon. With positive and negative variants, it now proudly flexes across all formats to rightfully lead the brand identity rather than simply accentuate.
We also introduced a custom typeface, Great Northern Condensed, rooted in the charm and character of outback Queensland pubs. Inspired by hand-painted pub roofs, the typography is bold, confident and unmistakably local. Carrying a renewed attitude, the new wordmark combines bold proportions with crafted detailing, ready to sit on a badge, a slab or billboard.
The packaging system was rebuilt from the ground up. To create a consistent yet adaptable system across the range, we simplified the hierarchy to establish a unified approach through Original to Super Crisp, Zero and Ginger Beer. The Marlin anchors every layout, with placement optimised for cans, bottles and cartons, with clearly coded colours and strong type to help customers shop faster.
Most importantly, this system wasn’t designed just for shelf. It was imagined to scale. Seamlessly extending to retail signage, digital, merch, and campaigns. Cohesive, confident and full of Aussie character, the identity now delivers impact wherever it appears.
