Zita The Barber, girl behind the labels

In this article we asked a few questions from Zita, our designer about her inspirations and her long term relationship with MONYO. We believe she is a real artist, with a fantastic visual mindset. Inspiring answers and references can be found here.

Where did you study design?

At the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, graphic design course.
 
How did you get in touch with MONYO?

I seem to remember the first encounter was in Csakajósör, then in MONYO Tap House, as a consumer, then at Graphasel Design Studio, as a graphic designer I was working there at that time.
 
Where did this visual world associated with MONYO coming from? What was the first thing that came to your mind when you got the assignment?
 
The very first label that I created was Flying Rabbit, followed by Sour Rise and Anubis. This trio managed to win the tender issued by MONYO back in 2016. Even back then, the beers had quite expressive names, ones that could even fit into movie titles, maybe the idea was coming from this association. I had in mind to create so-called pop culture mash-ups based on it, but at first I started on instinct. The names of the beers triggered a lot of associations in me, in fact, an entertaining clip popped up, strange scenes but usual directing styles, I wanted to do something with it, that definitely required an illustrative solution. I was a pretty massive Adventure Time enthusiast at the time, and this chaotic, weird little world made a huge impact on me. I like such playful things that teeter on the edge, I loved it’s dream-like logic in which completely unexpected things can intertwine in a super organic way. In any case, I wanted to create a world that was funny, a bit goofy and lovable, spinning with confusing events, which could also react to the actual circumstances of consumption of the beer in question.

How can you be impressed from label to label?

There is no conscious, direct preparation behind it. I'm simply open, curious about all kinds of playful things, I let the experiences impress me, and by the way I consume a lot and a variety of visual content.
 
How is the label born after the brief? What is the method?

There is no established method, it turns out a little differently from label to label, but anyway I don't like to do things out of routine. Sometimes I

connect directly to the idea by hearing the name of a beer, sometimes I go a little further to find out what kind of film or other cultural reference meet the character or ingredients of the beer that could be included in the graphics, the point is the organic conclusion.
 
Which is your favorite MONYO label?

It's usually the last thing I did, since it's the closest to me at that point. But if I had to name an eternal favorite, I would choose a series right off the bat, namely the Summer Series, the second generation of which was produced in 2021. Banana birds and beer mermaid figures are all very dear to me, but even more so Glen Baxter, who inspired this series.

What is the design that is not related to MONYO, but you really like it?

I think that Mikkeller's graphics represent a very brave, edgy direction, and they also have some kind, cheeky humor in them, which I highly appreciate. The appearance of Omnipollo beers are also super exciting, I like that the graphics are in the lead, and they dare to give up traditional branding without compromise. This is an extremely rare, but all the cooler feature of product packaging, and it is also a good example of the value of being brave in visual communication.
 
Who are those artists who inspire you?

Those who may be graphically important in relation to the MONYO labels are the aforementioned Glen Baxter and Kató Lukáts, plus whatever Anna Haifisch creates pleases me indeed as she has an endlessly subtle and apt humor. But besides them, there are many other things that can be considered, not-so-illustrative directions can also be references, let’s say from the classic zombie film trilogy to even rococo genre pictures, depending on what the actual label requires.
 
Do you have a plan that, although we rejected it, but you still couldn't let it go and you feel that you still have work to do with your idea?

I wouldn't spoil this under any circumstances. :)
 
What music do you listen to? What do you read?

It's pretty varied what I'm in the mood to listen to, but here are some names that come back often: Soft Moon, New Order, Soviet Soviet, Pixies, Decolonize Your Mind Society, Debussy, Rimsky-Korsakov, Steve Reich, Aphex Twin, Ben Frost...

I mostly read theoretical books, for example, I’ve just picked up Variations of Posthumanism  (not official English title – ed.) again, but if I had to name three novels that are important to me, they would be “Fuharosok” by Esterházy Péter, “The Blue Fox” by Sjón and “The Fawn” by Szabó Magda. In all of them, the author plays excitingly with the narrative and the relationship between past and present, and I am very interested in this attitude.
 
Thanks!
 
Here you can find Zita:
https://www.behance.net/zbarber