Student’s design chosen for Salford’s 100th birthday beer

Second year BA Graphic Design student, Anhelina Serhiienko, from the Ukraine, will see her  winning design adorn the new 1926 pale ale produced by the famous Salford brewery. 

The 4.2ABV Pale Ale ‘1926’ is named after the year Salford was officially granted city status by Royal Charter. Available in 350ml cans via the SEVEN BRO7HERS web shop the new beer combines classic British brewing with modern US hop expression – the zesty citrus notes provide a smooth drink and the ultimate taste for Spring.

Speaking about her bespoke beer can design, Anhelina Serhiienko said: “It is an honour to have my design chosen, I am so excited to see it live. I wanted to celebrate Salford’s past while maintaining a modern and clean aesthetic that appeals to a wide audience. I chose to combine multiple colours within a grid of squares. This produced a vibrant and eye-catching design that remains distinctive on the shelf, even among other brightly coloured products.”

Anhelina was chosen from 10 students who entered the design challenge from SEVEN BRO7HERS who were on the lookout for a unique take on their beloved city for the centennial ale cans. 

Founder and Head of Export for SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO, Kit McAvoy,  said the birthday ale is just one of the ways in which the famous Salford family business is honouring Salford’s 100th birthday. He added: “We’re incredibly proud to be part of Salford’s centenary celebrations and to mark such an important milestone for the city. Collaborating with the talented graphic design students at the University of Salford has been a real highlight – the creativity and quality of the entries made selecting a final label no easy task to choose.

“The artwork perfectly captures the spirit, heritage and energy of Salford, and we’re delighted to bring it to life on this special limited-edition brew. Supporting emerging local talent while celebrating our city’s history makes this project particularly meaningful for us as a Salford-based brewery.”

The family boast a host of University of Salford alumni, most prominently Samantha McAvoy who is head of marketing for the brand – a graduate of the BA graphic design course.

Samantha added: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the University of Salford studying Graphic Design – it set me up for a career in design and marketing in the best possible way. It’s been great to now work with students on the same course, giving them real-world experience. Their creativity and passion really stood out, and Anhelina’s final design is a fantastic result. We’re excited to collaborate with the University again.

“1926 Pale Ale has been a brilliant project – a real celebration of Salford and the creative talent coming through today. As a former student, it’s been especially rewarding to reconnect and support the next generation of designers.”

The 1926 ale will go on sale on Tuesday 21 April  via the SEVEN BRO7HERS webshop. The firm will donate a percentage of the proceeds to Talk About It Mate – a men’s mental health charity based in Salford. It will also be available in MediaCityUK’s Central Bay-based entertainment bar 11 Central, SEVEN BRO7HERS Brewery Taproom and other bars across Salford city. 

Alan Oliver is the Graphic Design course leader at University of Salford, said: “It’s great experience for our amazing students to work with an iconic Salford brand like SEVEN BRO7HERS, and to be asked to meet tight deadlines. We opened it up to our level 5 Graphic Design students and they did brilliantly. 

“We love working with partners in Salford as well as colleagues around the University to make great experiences for our students. I’m also leading a project to mark the anniversary of Peel Park later this year and will be revealing our undergraduates’ work for that soon.”

The Graphic Design Course at Salford has some notable names as alumni including the Founders of clothing brand Represent and the Owner and Creative director of Instruct. 

University of Salford is working closely with Salford City Council on multiple projects to help honour Salford’s Centenary. Poet John Cooper Clarke is just one of the names being interviewed by our BA and Masters journalism students who are profiling one hundred community heroes as part of a year-long writing project for the birthday year.

Lindsay Taylor, Director of the University’s Art Collection and lead for the 100th birthday celebrations said: “It is an honour to work closely with the Council on the fantastic programme of events for the Salford Centenary. The 100 years celebrations are a good way of showing how much we can achieve when we work together. We are involving students wherever we can and we’ll be announcing more exciting activity as the celebrations pan out.”