Köstritzer China
Brand website for China
Overview
A German black beer, introduced to China
Köstritzer Schwarzbier has been brewed in Bad Köstritz, Thuringia, since 1543, and has been Germany’s best-selling black beer since 1995. To launch it in China, the brewery needed a website that introduced the beer, the brewery and its history to people meeting it for the first time, in English and Chinese. I designed every page of koestritzer.cn.
one shared frame
in the navigation
1543 to 2011
English, Chinese
before entry
My Responsibilities
Lead designer
From the age gate to the notice board, every page of the site.
Seven sections with their own sub navigation, held in one page frame that fits every kind of content.
A welcome that explains responsible drinking and asks for the visitor’s age before the site opens.
Black ground, Köstritzer red and the faceted red of the bottle label, carried across every page.
Thirteen chapters from 1543 to 2011, each with a picture from the archive, stepped through on one page.
Home, brewery, products, activities, brand world, press and notice board, fifteen page designs in all.
The layouts presented page by page, with the history timeline shown chapter by chapter.
Welcome and Home
An age gate, then the brand
Every visit starts at an age gate in the brand’s own voice: the brewery explains its commitment to responsible drinking and asks visitors to confirm their age. Behind it, the home page leads with the claim It’s all about taste, the bottles, and three tiles that change with each campaign.
Welcome, the age gate
Home page
The Brewery
History, brewing and the brewery tour
The brewery carries the story. History runs as a timeline from the first record in 1543 to the new bottle of 2011, thirteen chapters, each with a picture from the archive. Brewing Process and Brewery Tour take visitors from the brewhouse to the bottling plants.
1543, first mentioned in records
1558, the founding of Jena University
1875, Rudolf Zersch builds the new brewery
1948, the brewery becomes public property
1993, the relaunch across Germany
2011, the new bottle
Brewing process
Brewery tour
Products and Brand World
The beer, the film and the spot
One product page gives the Schwarzbier’s character, alcohol content and nutrition in a single screen. Brand World holds the brand film about the brewing process and the TV spot set in a music club, each played from the page.
Products
Brand movie
TV spot
Activities
Culture and sport
In Germany Köstritzer is known for backing music and sport, from the ECHO music award to its own newcomer band competition. Both pages pair a video with the story.
Culture
Sport
Press and Notice Board
News, company and contact
Press carries the company portrait and current releases. The notice board holds the contact form, the newsletter sign-up and the brewery’s statement on responsible drinking.
Corporate portrait
Press releases
Contact
Newsletter
Responsibility
Built for China
English and Chinese, Weibo built in
Every page carries a 中文 and EN switch, and the site ran in both languages from launch. The foot of each page holds three campaign tiles, with Köstritzer on Weibo, the Chinese social network, next to the new bottle and the brand film.
Header with the 中文 and EN switch
Campaign tiles: the new bottle, Weibo and the brand film
Sitemap
One site, seven sections
Behind the age gate, seven sections in the main navigation, each with its own sub navigation, and every page in English and Chinese.
- History
- Brewing process
- Brewery tour
- Köstritzer Schwarzbier
- Culture
- Sport
- Brand movie
- TV spot
- News
- Corporate portrait
- Newsletter
- Contact
- Responsibility
What Köstritzer gained
Outcomes of the launch
A home in China for a beer with almost five centuries of history, telling its story to people meeting it for the first time.
koestritzer.cn was live by November 2013, in English and Chinese, with every section of the brand.
A timeline from the first record in 1543 to the new bottle of 2011, each step with a picture from the archive.
An age gate and a statement on responsible drinking, the standards a beer brand is held to.
A Köstritzer on Weibo tile on every page, next to the current campaign.
The site stayed online with this design into 2016, about three years.
koestritzer.cn
Thank you!
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