News

Client press, praise and milestones. Studio events, awards and articles of note. Job openings and what’s new with the team here at the workshop.

Lake Hour in The Dieline

Like a day on the lake, in a can on your lips! Our brand and packaging work for the team at Lake Hour was recently highlighted by The Dieline.

Read more here

Now Hiring: Design Intern

Design Intern

The Position

Helms Workshop is seeking a keenly skilled and passionate Designer Intern to work closely with our small, tight-knit team based in Austin, Texas. Your primary responsibilities will be supporting our lead designers in developing and extending brand design systems from design through production to meet project goals.

This position will be full-time, 40 hours per week Monday through Friday. We are not looking for part-time applicants at this time.

To be successful in this role you must be able to understand and work within an existing design system, and take key strategic brand tenets and convey those stories visually. You'll be responsible for collaborating on creative development across a number of brands, and working with the team to evaluate and edit creative work to reach the best possible outcomes.

The Studio

We are a close team that values working hard in a fun, dynamic studio environment that is both exciting and challenging. We love the work we do, and truly enjoy working with one another and our clients. Our diverse array of clients includes national, regional and local brands spanning consumer packaged goods, craft beer and spirits, hospitality and restaurant groups, outdoor lifestyle, music industry folks, and others.

This role is open to both remote and applicants located in Austin, TX.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of this job involve collaborating in the design development process to produce exceptional, strategically sound and unique brand systems. This includes a broad range of project types from identity, packaging, merchandise, signage, interactive web experiences, displays, logos, brand identity systems and more. Secondary responsibilities include working with team members from multiple departments on design system extensions and production.

Requirements

  • Ability to work within a variety of programs, including but not limited to Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop with a high degree of proficiency
  • Experience working on the design and extension of exceptional brand identity and design systems
  • Ability to listen and interpret foundational brand strategies and convey those insights through visual directions
  • Must be able to articulate and present design thinking amongst internal team and directly to clients in a clear and thoughtful manner
  • Strong use of typography and refined typesetting capabilities
  • Passionate about great design, detail oriented and ideas driven
  • Manage multiple simultaneous deadlines and projects
  • Use your design knowledge and expertise to inspire confidence in clients, and be able to identify new creative opportunities
  • Ability to work collaboratively with a small and cohesive team of designers
  • Be able to listen and interpret design direction in order to execute a concept or build within existing brand vocabulary
  • Experience working with packaging and print production preferred
  • 3D modeling/rendering skills, and animation skills are a bonus

Applicants can apply by completing the Contact Form. Include a link to your portfolio and resumé, as well as a cover letter if desired.

Seeing Gold at the Craft Beer Marketing Awards

Thrilled to share that we’ve taken home not one but four coveted Gold Crushies from the annual Craft Beer Marketing Awards for our work with Austin Beerworks. It’s always great when you get to team up with friends and those friends make beer that you get to drink together.

- Best Packaging Design / For Bottles: Killer Strains Golden Sour, Austin Beerworks

- Best Can Design / Printed Cans (All Sizes): Homeostasis IPA, Austin Beerworks

- Best Can Design / 8 - 15oz: Dark Romance Porter, Austin Beerworks

- Best Merchandise Design / Most Creative Line: Tropical Tuxedo Merch Line, Austin Beerworks. Produced by: Brist MFG

VoChill on Shark Tank ABC

Helms Workshop brand partners and VoChill founders Lisa and Randall Pawlik dove into Shark Tank recently, joining the sharks and guest entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow. Riding the momentum of their recent inclusion as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things, the founders pitched the sharks seeking an investment of $300K in exchange for a 5% stake in their business.

Cool as a perfectly chilled Sauvignon Blanc, both VoChill’s wine chillers and the founders themselves received high praise, and even garnered an offer from Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary. Read more and watch clips online via Shark Tank and VoChill.

VoChill Lands on Oprah’s Favorite Things List

When Oprah loves it, you miiiiiiiight want to give it a look. After a recent showing on the wine gift list at USA Today, VoChill’s new stemless chill cradles have won the heart of America’s beloved mother of daytime. To be honest, it’s always nice when someone makes a list, checks it twice, and our good friends steal the show. Plus, these things make for the perfect gift.

Check out the rest of Oprah’s Favorite Things here, or go ahead and grab some chill cradles for friends and family here. And don’t worry: Even though VoChill products are built for the hottest summer days, they’re still perfect for the winter. When you’re curled up by the fire, and your toes are nice and toasty, do you really want your wine to taste like it's been roasting on an open fire?

Dieline 2022 Awards: Alvies Announced Winner

The Dieline 2022 Awards announced Alvies, Austin’s homegrown brand for boots and leather flip-flops, as second place winner in the ‘Clothing and Fashion’ category. The competition recognizes the absolute best in packaging around the globe, and this year received over 1,700 entries from 36 countries. We worked with Alvies to craft a lighthearted and laid-back packaging experience that blasts pure Austin vibes and tells the stories held in every scratch and scuff. Read more about our work with the brand here.

FOND Bone Broth Celebrates a Monumental Year

Consumer desire for clean, organic, and natural food products continues to rise, and our friends at FOND Bone Broth are leading the expansion of the entire natural category. The female-founded business, based in San Antonio, just announced the addition of 900+ stores and an expanded product offering. Fond grew its retail business by a whopping 860% from 2020, and its direct-to-consumer sales by 373%. The brand also recently celebrated its acceptance into the Savory Institute’s Land to Market program, the leader in verifying regeneratively grown products. We could not be more proud of what this brand is not only doing for the health of its consumers but the planet at large.

Howler X Helms Collab 2022 Drop!

We’ve been collaborating with our hermanos Howler Bros for over a decade. We were originally drawn together by a shared belief that creating great gear takes craft, attention to detail and the best raw materials. It turns out that approach also applies in making a killer cocktail!It’s fitting that our latest collaboration expanded from clothing to product design, taking form in our Howler x Helms Cocktail Kit. Inside you’ll find a custom HxH shaker, a pair of highball glasses, a bar towel, coasters and a book filled with our favorite cocktails culled from friends, family recipes and years of travel across the globe. It’s the perfect gift for family, friends or yourself. Take it with you on the go, or keep it in your favorite cocktail nook at home. Visit Howlerbros.com to grab yours!

Mosie Baby Now Available at CVS

As of today, The Mosie Kit and Mosie Baby Ovulation Predictor Kits are available in 550 CVS locations nationwide! We are so proud of the work we've done helping to build the Mosie Baby brand over the last 3 years and can't wait for folks to see the new retail-specific packaging. A huge congratulations to Mo, Marc, and the whole Mosie team!

Imperfekt Bites Named A Finalist in H-E-B’s Quest for Texas Best

Jessica Wuesthofen and our friends at Imperfekt Bites have been selected as one of 20 finalists in the 2021 H-E-B Quest for Texas Best contest! The competition, now in its 8th year, reviewed over 1,200 Texas-made products to select the elite group of finalists. They are in the running to have their hand-crafted chocolate snacks considered for placement on H-E-B shelves, along with a $25,000 grand prize. The winner will be announced on August 26th.

We started working with the Imperfekt Bites team in 2019 when the brand was still in the early idea stage, and together we have worked to develop their brand strategy, naming, brand identity, packaging, and website.

Pearl Launches Marketplace Goods with Nod to Brand Heritage

Working hand-in-hand with our partners at The Historic Pearl in San Antonio, our team designed a new, limited line of marketplace goods tying back to the brand’s rich 138-year history. From vibrant vintage postcards, to a sturdy canvas tote that’s perfect for a Saturday at Pearl’s Farmers Market, each item is an opportunity to bring a piece of a Pearl out of the archives and into the current-day marketplace

FOND’s Bone Broth ft. in Goop’s ‘What We’re Talking About This Month’

FOND Bone Broth is perfect in any season. From simply sipping, to cooking up a warm, hearty meal during those cold winter months, or keeping up nutrient levels on a hot summer day, it’s a great choice for health. It’s no surprise that Goop featured Fond as no. 1 on their summer round-up.

We’re incredibly proud of the entire branding system we built for FOND – from the sustainable packaging to the website and brand merchandise. You can see more on our work page, here.


Everyday can be Fry-Day

Longtime partner and celebrated Texas BBQ favorite LeRoy & Lewis tapped our team for their latest culinary endeavor – “Mama Fried”. The fully-loaded French fry concept is serving up Outlaw Fries, complete with every seasoning, dip, and topping one could ever dream up.

Working with the Mama Fried team from inception through launch, we created a throwback brand system that puts the focus on the food, with a hint of State Fair nostalgia.

East Austin Welcomes the City’s Newest Taco Shop

Just in time for (a highly anticipated) summer, our team partnered up with 2 Dine 4, the hospitality group behind Sawyer & Co, to launch East Austin’s newest taco cantina De Nada. Our task was to create a brand identity for the new restaurant that mirrored the easygoing, ‘good times’ atmosphere and authentic Mexican menu. “The drink menu — which includes margaritas, a paloma, and a spicy pineapple drink with mezcal — was created by Chris Bostick, the owner of lauded Rainey Street cocktail bar Half Step.”

Check out more about the restaurant opening via Eater’s write-up.

Austin Beerworks Releases 17 Uniquely-Designed Beer Cans to Celebrate Austin FC’s Inaugural Season

With Austin FC’s first home game just weeks away, the city’s soccer fans are eagerly counting down the days until kickoff. To celebrate in true ATX spirit, Austin Anthem teamed up with longtime client partners Austin Beerworks and our team to launch a series of unique beer cans for FC fans, each highlighting one of the 17 home games.

“Each can design will be limited to only 500 cans, and will feature custom illustrations gently poking fun at the opposing team’s mascot. The beer inside will rotate across Beerworks’ year-round and seasonal brews. The commemorative cans will be released the week of each corresponding game, exclusively from Austin Beerworks’ taproom located less than a mile from Q2 Stadium in north Austin.” Don’t forget to stop by Austin Beerworks’ taproom this soccer season!

Lone River Featured in AdWeek

"It’s been called the unofficial drink of West Texas dive bars and house parties. Some describe it as a refreshing mashup of a Tom Collins and a margarita." Read more about the rise of Lone River Ranch Water here.



Austin Monthly Holiday Gift Guide Features Alvies & VoChill

With the holiday season approaching, Austin Monthly curated a Gift Guide featuring locally crafted products which included highlights of both Alvies and VoChill. If you're looking for a good gift this holiday season, you can check out the full article linked in the headline!

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