Between client assignments, Dresden Design tasked the team to create a unique branding project for their internal use. The agency’s owner had envisioned a fictional distillery named Fawkes Distillery, inspired in part by her time in England celebrating Guy Fawkes Night (also known as Bonfire Night).

The creative brief also included a personal mantra used throughout the brand as an alternative design element: Semper Invicta—Latin for “this is not the end.”

The visual identity is grounded in a rich palette of charcoal, ivory, and copper, anchored by a bold blackletter typeface. While the branding draws on historical and classical motifs, its strong angles, curves, and graphic forms give it a modern edge. The phoenix logo—shaped like a flame—subtly references the brand’s fiery origins. Any further magical associations with the bird are purely coincidental. Or perhaps, not.