From Concept to Culture: Building HopCulture's Digital Publication

I guided the project from initial discovery through branding, UX/UI design focusing on creating both a distinctive identity and editorial flexibility that would support HopCulture's growth.

Leading Brand Development

I began with audience research and competitive benchmarking to understand where HopCulture could differentiate in the lifestyle media landscape. Rather than following craft beer category conventions, I looked at broader lifestyle reference studies to identify visual and tonal territory that felt fresh. I created multiple mood boards that explored different brand directions, facilitating discussions with stakeholders about tone, voice, and visual personality. The final identity centered on a mark inspired by the hop flower—a symbol that was both literal and abstract, memorable enough to work as a standalone icon while remaining flexible across applications from digital to merchandise.

Designing for Flexibility

The publishing platform needed to balance editorial freedom with consistency. I designed a fully custom web magazine experience built on configurable content blocks that allowed content creators to adjust image placement, media elements, and article formatting for each piece. Rather than forcing every article into the same template, I created a system where layouts could be unique while maintaining cohesive brand expression. The custom WYSIWYG interface we designed gave the editorial team direct control over visual storytelling without requiring developer intervention for every publishing decision.

Building for Scale

We built the WordPress template system, ensuring my design vision translated into a speedy, maintainable platform. The technical architecture needed to support not just launch content but future growth—more articles, more contributors, more content types. I made strategic decisions about which elements to systematize and which to leave flexible, creating a foundation that could evolve as HopCulture's ambitions expanded beyond the initial web magazine.

The Impact

• Launched HopCulture's digital publication with a distinctive brand identity that stood out in the crowded craft beer and lifestyle media space.

• Created a flexible WordPress publishing platform that gave content creators editorial control over layout and visual storytelling without developer dependency.

• Designed configurable content blocks that enabled unique article layouts while maintaining brand consistency, supporting visual variety across hundreds of published pieces.

• Delivered a scalable foundation that supported HopCulture's expansion beyond web publishing into merchandise, events, and national readership.

• HopCulture was acquired by nextglass.co owners of Untapped and Beer Advocate in 2020.