DesignOn Tap
There’s a beer that doesn’t exist yet. It has a name, an ABV, and a phoenix in its DNA. What it doesn’t have is a face. That part’s yours.
They brought a brief, not a booth.
We Are Alexander is sponsoring Circles this year, and instead of a table and a bowl of branded pens they brought a real brief — from a real client, judged by the people who wrote it.
So they invented a beer. Alexander Ale has a name, an ABV and a brewery. What it doesn’t have is a design. That part’s yours: twelve ounces of aluminum, five spot colors, and one shot at cutting through the most crowded aisle in retail.
Five finalists take the stage at Circles on October 1 to present to the Alexander panel. The winner is announced live, in the room — with $500 and two tickets to Circles 2027 behind it.
A blank can is
the best brief
you’ll get all year.
Most of the work you do lives inside somebody else’s guardrails. This doesn’t. You get a name, a logo, a product truth and five colors — then the rest of the surface is yours to argue for.
Type it, illustrate it, pattern it, break the category conventions or use them against themselves. The panel has said it plainly: they’re judging the thinking as much as the artwork.
Claim Your Can$1,100 in cash.
Four tickets. One stage.
Every winner gets a seat at Circles 2027, plus the cash to go with it.
- 2 tickets to Circles 2027
- Your can presented live to the Alexander panel
- Winner announced on stage, October 1
- 1 ticket to Circles 2027
- Finalist presentation slot at Circles 2026
- 1 ticket to Circles 2027
- Finalist presentation slot at Circles 2026
The Alexander DNA
We Are Alexander takes its name from three people who changed the world in three different ways. Their logo is a phoenix — rebirth, renewal, transformation. Alexander Ale should feel like it came from the same place.
Alexander the Great
A willingness to take the lead, hold a point of view, and try something different. Success is inevitable when leadership and willpower unite.
Alexandre Dumas
A willingness to experiment, look at familiar things differently, and make something new. Creativity that transcends borders and outlives its author.
Alexander Graham Bell
A willingness to explore new ideas, challenge convention, and find a better way forward. Persistence and dreams, pointed at the same problem.
Interpret the brand — don’t reproduce it. You are not required to put these three on a can. You’re required to make people feel what they stand for.
21 to 34,
and spoiled
for choice.
Your audience isn’t trading beer for one new category. They’re moving fluidly between beer, seltzers, non-alc, THC drinks, sodas, flavored waters and electrolytes — picking whatever fits the moment.
More choice means higher expectations. Beer can’t coast on beer conventions anymore. This drinker isn’t looking for a can that plays it safe; they’re looking for one that grabs them and tells them something.
The mandatories
Miss one of these and the panel can’t score you. Brief adherence is a judged criterion, so treat this as the spec sheet it is.
- Product Name
- Alexander Ale
- Brewery
- Alexander Brewing CoFictional, and required on the can.
- Logo
- We Are AlexanderThe only required asset. Other brand graphics, colors and fonts are optional.
- Strength & Volume
- 4.2% ABV / 12 FL OZ
- Color Limit
- 5 PMS Colors MaxPrint-realistic. Build it like it’s going on press.
- Legal
- Government WarningStandard alcohol warning text must appear.
Two deliverables
Keep it tight. The panel would rather see one resolved idea than four half-built ones.
- Can design — front. Applied to the supplied 12 oz die line.
- Can design — back. Including mandatories and legal.
- Can top, if your concept uses it. Optional.
- A deck, 6 slides maximum. Keynote or PowerPoint.
- In the deck: who you are, your inspiration, the concept, the design.
- And the close: how your design answers the opportunity.
If you’re selected as a finalist, be ready to walk the room through your idea and its connection to the Alexander brand on October 1.
Design it like
someone’s going
to hold it.
A can is not a poster. It curves, it gets gripped, it sits at eye level next to forty competitors, and it gets seen from six feet away before anyone reads a word of it.
Think about what survives that: the silhouette, the color block, the one thing a person catches while walking past. Then earn the close-up.
How it gets judged
The winner won’t necessarily be the prettiest can. It’ll be the one where the thinking, the design and the brand come together hardest.
Idea
Is there a clear, compelling idea behind the design?
Brand Fit
Does it authentically translate leadership, creativity and innovation into the beer category?
Consumer Fit
Would it appeal to a drinker who has more options than ever and less loyalty to beer?
Distinctiveness
Would it stand out on a crowded shelf? Does it feel ownable?
Design
Is the execution thoughtful, intentional and well resolved?
Appeal
Does it make Alexander Ale feel like a beer you’d actually pick up and try?
Brief Adherence
Are all mandatories included, and is the design technically suitable for print production?
Somebody orders
a round, and your
work is on the table.
That’s the job. Not a mockup, not a slide — a thing people pick up without thinking, because the design already did the thinking for them.
The pour schedule
-
Sept 8
Contest Opens
Brief and asset kit released. Submissions open to everyone.
-
Sept 28
Submissions Close
Final designs and decks due by 11:59 PM. No extensions.
-
Sept 29
Finalists Announced
The top five are invited to present at Circles.
-
Oct 1 · 12:30 PM
Live Finals
Finalists present to the Alexander judging panel. Winner announced live, on stage. RSVP to watch →
Get on the list
Sign up and we’ll send you the full brief, the die line, the Alexander asset kit, and a nudge before the deadline. Free to enter, open to everyone.
Already finished your can?
Watch the finals
Thursday, October 1 at 12:30 PM. Five finalists present their cans to the Alexander panel and the winner is announced live in the room. Pizza and drinks are on us. You don’t need to enter the contest to come watch.
A heads up on lunch: we’re serving pizza, and we won’t be able to cover every dietary need. If you have restrictions, grab something beforehand — you’re just as welcome either way.
Questions
A sponsor of Circles 2026, and the client for this brief. They’re a team of thinkers and creative problem-solvers whose culture is built on leadership, creativity and innovation, and their logo is a phoenix. Alexander Ale is their idea: a beer that doesn’t exist yet, invented so the room would have something real to design. Their panel judges the finals and picks the winner.
Anyone. Students, freelancers, in-house designers, agency folks, and people who just want a reason to open Illustrator on a weeknight. You do not need a ticket to Circles to enter.
No. Entering is completely free.
Finalists present live at Circles on October 1 at 12:30 PM, so plan to be there if you make the top five. Your prize tickets are for Circles 2027.
Submit your strongest single concept. One well-resolved idea will always score better than several unfinished ones, and the panel is scoring the thinking as much as the artwork.
Only the logo is required. The graphics, color palette and fonts in the kit are available to you, but you are free to build your own visual world around the logo. There is no prescribed style.
Because real cans get printed on real presses. The five-PMS limit keeps every entry production-credible and puts everyone on the same footing. Working inside the constraint is part of what’s being judged.
By entering, you agree that Circles and We Are Alexander may show your work in contest promotion, on stage, and in event recaps with credit to you. Full terms are included with the brief.
Email ish@circlesco.com and we’ll get you sorted.
Last call.
Entries close September 28. Five people get the stage. One gets the can, the cash and the room.
Get the Brief RSVP to WatchHand it in.
No account needed. Name, email, and your files — that’s it. Entries close September 28 at 11:59 PM.