RITZENHOFF Viking Weizenbier Glass — Character & Product Illustration

Designing a character for a curved glass surface

The Viking was designed specifically for a tall wheat-beer glass. That meant working with a narrow vertical format, transparent material and a surface that is never viewed completely flat.

The character therefore needed a strong silhouette and an immediately readable face, with enough movement to remain lively as the glass is turned in the hand.

The final design combines a bearded Viking, gold helmet, sword and axe with small sparkling beer-glass motifs. The exaggerated stance and expression give the character its comic energy without making the composition too busy for the object.

Glass · Coasters · Packaging

A small product system

The Viking illustration was not confined to the glass itself. The finished set also included matching coasters and RITZENHOFF presentation packaging.

That required the artwork to work at several scales: as the dominant decoration on the glass and as a smaller supporting graphic on the accompanying pieces.

Together, the elements turn the glass into a complete collectible object rather than a single decorated surface.

Illustration made for the object

Product illustration changes when the artwork leaves the page. On glassware, packaging or another physical object, the image has to respond to scale, shape, material and viewing angle.

For the Weizenbier glass, the tall format naturally suggested a vertical character composition. The artwork also had to remain clear in product photography and when displayed alongside other pieces in the collection.

This kind of project sits between commissioned illustration, character design and graphic design.

RITZENHOFF collaboration

One design within a broader series

The Viking Weizenbier glass was one of several designs I created for RITZENHOFF during a wider collaboration that also included other forms of collectible glassware and decorated objects.

The different pieces offered variations on the same basic challenge: create an illustration with enough personality to stand on its own while adapting it precisely to a manufactured object.

See the wider RITZENHOFF collaboration →