Short Porch – Beer Branding that Embraces Jacksonville Culture and the Love of Baseball

When a brewery is as deeply tied to its neighborhood as Strings Sports Brewery is to Springfield, every release carries a story.

The newest addition to the Strings lineup, Short Porch Session Hazy IPA, celebrates that connection through both name and design. Released in conjunction with Jacksonville’s annual PorchFest, this beer is a toast to community, music, and the local spirit that helped shape it.

At 63 Visual, we’ve had the privilege of helping Strings tell its story since day one. Every Strings can design pays homage to sports terminology while grounding itself in the culture of the city. “Short Porch” continues that legacy, a design built around a neighborhood, a name with dual meaning, and a beer that fits right into the rhythm of Springfield’s front porches.

A Name with Local Meaning: The Story Behind “Short Porch”

If you’ve spent time in a ballpark, you’ve probably heard the phrase “short porch”. It’s a baseball term that refers to a section of the outfield that’s closer to home plate than usual. It’s a shallow area that gives hitters a better chance of sending one over the fence. It’s a term often used affectionately, a nod to those ballparks where the game feels a little more accessible and exciting.

For Strings, “Short Porch” carried another layer of meaning. The brewery’s original location is in Springfield, one of Jacksonville’s most historic neighborhoods, known for its rows of front porches, live music, and community gatherings. The PorchFest event has become a signature moment for the area, with local bands performing from neighborhood porches while crowds fill the streets. The name “Short Porch” naturally connected both worlds: the sports heritage at the heart of Strings and the porch culture that defines Springfield. That double meaning became the foundation for the design, a balance of baseball nostalgia and neighborhood pride, wrapped in the friendly, down-to-earth character that Strings is known for.

Design Concept: A Springfield Field of Dreams

The branding for Short Porch Session Hazy IPA began with a key image: Springfield’s historic homes flanking the outfield of a baseball field. This single composition brought together everything the beer stood for, the intersection of sport, community, and place.

The can artwork features a classic lineup of front porches illustrated in a refined, woodcut-inspired style, with hand-drawn linework and architectural detail inspired by the neighborhood’s Victorian and Craftsman-era homes. These houses form the backdrop of a stylized baseball field, creating the sense that the Springfield streets have transformed into a community ballpark.

The illustration rests under the familiar Strings badge, where a hop cone merges with a basketball net, a symbol that ties the brewery’s name and identity back to its roots as a community hub for families, friends, and local sports fans.

The deep navy background gives the can a classic feel, contrasted by gold line art that evokes the warm light of early evening, the perfect time for music, conversation, and a front-porch beer. A bold red circle highlights the beer’s style and seasonal release, anchoring the design and adding energy to the layout. Together, these elements create a nostalgic balance, much like the beer itself.

Typography and Tone: Familiar, Confident, and Local

The name “Short” takes center stage in a custom script with a hand-painted feel, echoing the look of vintage team logos and outfield signage. It’s confident but approachable, perfectly aligned with Strings’ personality. The “Porch” badge, framed in red and white, gives the design a sense of occasion, signaling this as a seasonal release while maintaining the overall brand system that ties all Strings cans together.

Each beer in the Strings lineup follows a cohesive visual structure but with its own distinctive story. “Short Porch” keeps the consistent placement of brand marks and ABV info, while its color palette and illustration make it immediately recognizable as a Springfield original. It’s a visual continuation of Strings’ commitment to thoughtful storytelling through design.

From Brewery to Neighborhood

To understand why this particular release resonates so strongly, you have to know the role that Strings plays in the Jacksonville community. Founded in Springfield, Strings Sports Brewery quickly became a cornerstone for the neighborhood, a place where families gather, friends meet after work, and the community comes together around shared love for local sports, good beer, and local flavor.

PorchFest embodies many of those same values. It’s a day when the streets of Springfield transform into a live music festival, with porches doubling as stages and neighbors opening their homes to the community. By timing the release of “Short Porch” with PorchFest they created a local tradition in the making.

The connection between the event and the beer’s name reinforces the sense of place that makes Jacksonville’s creative scene so distinctive. For a design studio like 63 Visual, that’s what makes collaborations like this rewarding: the opportunity to craft something that looks great on a shelf but feels meaningful in context.

The Design Process: Craft, Context, and Collaboration

Every Strings project begins with a conversation about story. What’s the connection to the community? What’s the spirit of the name? What emotional tone should the design convey? For “Short Porch,” those answers came easily amd Springfield’s personality did most of the talking.

The design process combined hand-drawn illustration and digitally refined composition, keeping the artwork true to the tactile quality of ink and paper. The goal was to create a sense of authenticity, something that feels crafted, not manufactured. This approach mirrors the brewery’s philosophy: accessible, high-quality beer with local character.

Typography, layout, and balance were refined through multiple iterations to ensure readability and visual flow across the curved surface of the 16-ounce can. The end result carries the familiar Strings hierarchy, beer name, style, ABV, and brand mark, but arranged in a way that maximizes both storytelling and shelf impact.

The finishing touches came through texture and print detail. The matte background paired with metallic gold ink gives the can dimension under light, while subtle droplets in photography highlight the tactile realism of the finished product.

A Sense of Place: Designing for Jacksonville

For 63 Visual, working with Strings Sports Brewery represents everything we love about Jacksonville design, rooted in authenticity, shaped by local stories, and crafted for people who take pride in where they live. “Short Porch” isn’t just about beer; it’s about honoring the community that helped inspire it.

From the neighborhood porches to the baseball field imagery, every element of this project reflects Jacksonville’s unique blend of history and creativity. Springfield remains one of the city’s most character-rich areas, and designs like this serve as a reminder that great branding doesn’t always start in a boardroom, sometimes it starts on a front porch with live music in the background.

The Power of a Story Well Told

Short Porch Session Hazy IPA is that rare example where concept, name, and design all converge naturally. The artwork decorates the can and tells a story that’s instantly recognizable to anyone who’s spent time in Springfield or attended PorchFest. It’s a beer made for the people who fill those porches, cheer on their teams, and keep Jacksonville’s creative spirit alive. For us, that’s what good design is all about, giving visual form to the pride, humor, and humanity that define a place.

Project: Short Porch Session Hazy IPA
Client: Strings Sports Brewery, Jacksonville, Florida
Design & Branding: 63 Visual Design Company
Style: Session Hazy IPA, 4.8% ABV
Release: PorchFest, Springfield Jacksonville

63 Visual is a Jacksonville Beach–based design studio specializing in brand identity, packaging, and creative storytelling for breweries, lifestyle brands, and local businesses. Get a quote today.