Opinion BY Armin

Miller High Life Overhaul

First brewed in the mid nineteenth century by Frederick Miller in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Miller High Life — well, to be clear, Miller High Life wasn’t introduced until 1903 — is one of most well known American beer brands. I have never had a Miller High Life so I can’t attest to its flavor, and it’s probably for the better, so that I don’t derail into a diatribe about my preferred beers. Earlier this year, Miller High Life introduced a whole new look for all of its packaging and graphics designed by the San Francisco office of Landor, with illustration assistance by Chris Mitchell.

Comparison of old (blue-hued) and new (red-hued) logos. 2 second delay between images.

There are various elements that come together for this redesign. First, the updated logo, which is a major improvement, losing the unnecessary shading and bevels of the old one, while cleaning up the typography and balancing the contents within the holding shape. The curves have also been accentuated a little more and it gives it a nicer flow.

A new Lucy, or The Girl in the Moon, which legend has it is a drawing of Miller’s granddaughter. Better cleavage, hearts on her blouse, smaller nose and no bangs.

Samples of previous packaging, above. New packaging, below.

The new packaging is undeniably more sophisticated and follows suit with the 2000s redesign of the Coca-Cola packaging, that stripped away all extraneous visuals. We will see if this holds on for enough time, before the sales people at Miller start asking for bubbles, ribbons and other nuisances. For now, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Bottles with the inside labels alluding to its “Champagne of Bottle Beer” nickname.

These brand patterns are very cool too, bold and understated, they capture a nice American spirit, and they look great on the sides of the cartons below. A pretty great update all around.

Various side views of the different boxes, stacked.

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First brewed in the mid nineteenth century by Frederick Miller in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Miller High Life — well, to be clear, Miller High Life wasn't introduced until 1903 — is one of most well known American beer brands. I have never had a Miller High Life so I can't attest to its flavor, and it's probably for the better, so that I don't derail into a diatribe about my preferred beers. Earlier this year, Miller High Life introduced a whole new look for all of its packaging and graphics designed by the San Francisco office of Landor, with illustration assistance by Chris Mitchell.