Friendly Fermenter | Madeline Miller

THE FRIENDLY FERMENTER

INTRODUCTION

I'm excited to share my experience working on the social media presence and branding of the Friendly Fermenter, a hidden gem of a nano-brewery in our college town. In a serendipitous turn of events during our senior year, four classmates and I decided to lend our expertise to help enhance the brewery's online visibility.

Our journey began with a meeting with the owner, where we discussed their desired social media presence and the challenges they faced in marketing themselves effectively. Drawing from this valuable insight, we conducted thorough user research to ensure our content not only met the owner's objectives but also resonated with the right audience, showcasing the brewery in a way that they would truly enjoy.

Using the gathered information, we created engaging social media posts that served as templates, simplifying the process of consistent and effective posting on various platforms. Our goal was to establish a compelling online presence for the Friendly Fermenter, captivating the attention of potential customers and fostering a sense of community around the brewery.

Recognizing the importance of a cohesive brand experience, we took the initiative to redesign their website. Our focus was on enhancing usability and visual appeal, ensuring that visitors had a seamless and enjoyable browsing experience.

Additionally, we undertook the task of reimagining their menu, aligning it with the rebranding efforts and providing a more informative and enjoyable experience for patrons visiting the brewery. We crafted a menu design that not only showcased the available offerings but also reflected the unique identity and atmosphere of the Friendly Fermenter.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The friendly fermenter is a small commercial nanobrewery, located in Harrisonburg, VA. They create new homebrew inspired beers weekly, only available in their tasting room. They have weekly events like Trivia Tuesday and Weiner Wednesday, along with a wide variety of food. The only problem they run into is their lack of social media presence resulting in low foot traffic, thats where we come in. We are seniors who are halfway through their last year living in Harrisonburg, and just now learned we had a brewery located in our own downtown. After taking a trip there, we decided we wanted to help them out and expand their customer base by updating their website, redesign their menu, and create social media posts. By designing these new deliverables for The Friendly Fermenter they will be able to strongly increase their online presence, and allow new customers to easily learn about their events and flavors of the week.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES & APPROACH

WEBSITE REDESIGN

The objective of the website redesign was to improve the quality of the current website and use our expertise to incorporate design qualities into their existing site. We did this by rearranging the information to better flow with the hierarchy of what the users most likely need first. We also chose a new font combination to integrate into their website to make it more visually appealing. Finally, we ensured all of the information was up-to-date so potential customers viewing the website are informed with the most accurate information.

CONTRIBUTORS & ROLE

ANDY GENESE & TRENT MOSS

Used Adobe XD to redesign the webpage. Revamping the homepage for the website will help viewers better understand the aesthetic of the Friendly Fermenter. The new layout is functionally and visually a more accurate representation of their great product.

BEFORE

AFTER

SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKUPS

The objective for creating social media posts was to allow The Friendly Fermenter to have templated posts that they could easily fill with their information, supplying them with a simple yet creative, appealing, and efficient way to inform their customers of upcoming events. By adding customizable templates to their social media stock they’ll be able to update their social media much more frequently with not much effort easily allowing the community of Harrisonburg to know not only the events and promotions but also the flavor’s that The Friendly Fermenter brews in-house each week.

CONTRIBUTORS & ROLE

KAYLA SCHNEIDER

Design social media post mockups aim to assist The Friendly Fermenter in boosting its social media presence.

MENU REDESIGN

The intended goal for the menu was to not only add design elements and make the menu more visually appealing for the brand but to also create an accurate menu where users will be able to find accurate information directly on their website. The current website doesn’t include pricing, doesn’t include all menu items, and is honestly just confusing overall. By using our design knowledge we were able to design a simple menu that would allow users to clearly understand what they are offered and have a good idea of what to spend before they visit this brewery.

CONTRIBUTORS & ROLE

MADELINE MILLER & LYNDSAY CRISCITELLO

We re-created The Friendly Fermenter's in-house menu. For this deliverable, we focused on their brand identity and used it as a framework for the design. They do not have many menu items, so the organization of the content was crucial to make it appear rather full. We also included their key weekly events such as wiener Wednesday and trivia night at the top of the menu, so it’s the first thing customers see. This menu can be used in-person, as well as online in a pdf format.