PAST BLUE RIBBON

Many of you know the story and fight behind this design making it out into the world, but we won't talk about that today. Instead I wanted to talk about the inspirations for the illustration.

Some of you will immediately recognize this style as "Studio Trigger" or more directly, inspired by the artist Sushio. I really love his simple yet expressive illustrations that just feel so alive. So for this illustration I wanted to achieve the same playful nature of his works.

But why the diner outfit, and why is she blasting off on the can? Where does the idea come from?

Well in my mind, I always pictured PABST as one of those almost classic American beverages. And often in those classic drink advertisements, you see the "good ol American gal" which more often than not, looks like a diner girl. (probably because I grew up always eating at Ruby's Diner) But that diner style is also very similar to the "pin-up" girls you'd see painted on the side of fighter planes. So instead of them posed sitting on a bomb... I thought riding the beer can, and using its tab as the flight controller would be super fun. This then meant I needed some sort of propulsion, so I added a rocket to the bottom, which led me to a smoke trail that eventually spelled out PABST behind her.

Looking back, I think this is my most thought out design despite how simple it first appears. And while it never got its day in the sun like it was meant for, hopefully now it can be enjoyed by you all.