By Dustin Neal, Partner/Principal Creative
Some design projects come with a brief. Others come with weight.
When The BARK Firm was asked to design the can for Ten Sleep Brewing Company’s Speed Goat Beer, the excitement hit immediately. Speed Goat is not just another beer on the shelf. It is one of Wyoming’s most recognizable beers, a favorite among loyal drinkers, and an important part of the state’s craft beer culture.
My first reaction was, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is happening.”
Then the reality set in. This was a big one.
For Ten Sleep Brewing, for Wyoming beer drinkers, for the people who already loved Speed Goat, and for us as designers, this project mattered. There was a lot riding on getting it right. The can needed to respect what Speed Goat already meant to people while giving it a visual identity that could carry the beer forward.
The goal was to create something rugged, modern, and unmistakably Wyoming. It needed to feel fresh enough for a younger crowd, but familiar enough for the old rancher who already knows about his favorite little brewery in Ten Sleep. That balance became the heart of the project.
The obvious answer would have been to put an antelope running across the side of the can.
But obvious was not good enough.
We have all seen that version before. Other breweries have used similar ideas, and Speed Goat deserved something more ownable, more iconic, and more lasting. The challenge became finding a way to honor the Wyoming tradition behind the name while creating a design that felt new.
That meant spending a lot of time with the illustration.
There were sketches, studies, tracing, revisions, rejected ideas, and plenty of conversations about what the final Speed Goat should feel like. The antelope needed to have presence. It needed realism, but not so much that it lost its graphic power. It needed to feel like a symbol, not just a drawing.
From there, the rest of the system started coming together.
The color palette was built from Ten Sleep Brewing’s existing brand world. The typography had to feel strong and confident. The overall composition had to work on a shelf, in someone’s hand, at a bar, or in a cooler next to every other beer trying to get attention.
Ten Sleep Brewing was deeply involved throughout the process. They helped guide the tone, style, and direction, which made the final design stronger. The best version came from the mix of their vision, my instincts as a designer, and the responsibility of thinking about the people who already love this beer.
That was the balance.
As a designer, I had my own ideas for where it could go. As a fan, I had ideas about what I wanted to see. But the right answer was not about forcing my own vision onto it. It was about finding the best idea for the brand, the brewery, and the people who connect with Speed Goat.
The final design is something I am proud of because of the details. The illustration has a sense of realism and craft, but it still feels bold and recognizable. It feels like it belongs to Wyoming. It feels like it can stand the test of time.
Behind the scenes, there were plenty of moments that made the project memorable. I recorded videos of the process. I worked through stacks of ideas. I shared directions with the team, got feedback, made changes, and kept pushing the design until it felt right. Everyone involved knew this one mattered. In a way, it felt like everyone had their name on it.
And that is what made it special.
Looking back, this project represents the kind of opportunity I always hoped would come along. I have helped bring a lot of brands to life, but this one was personal. Speed Goat is a Wyoming beer with a real following, and being trusted to help shape its next chapter is something I do not take lightly.
I wanted to create something that could live beyond the moment. Something people would recognize not just in Wyoming, but anywhere Speed Goat goes.
To have my name, and BARK’s name, connected to that history feels good.