Cannon Brew Pub recently teamed up with Columbus State University’s  College of the Arts to create a design competition among students for distinctive tap pulls and can labels for its locally brewed beer.

Cannon is now looking to distribute its specialty craft beers throughout the state and wanted a unique look for the draft beer tap handles found in bars and restaurants, as well as labels for their cans and bottle, which they will distribute to bars and retailers.

“We were looking for  something distinctive so that when a customer is sitting across the restaurant and sees the pull at the bar, it stands out”, said Brian Plemmons, president of Valley Hospitality, a Cannon co-owner.

Five students submitted a number of designs, which the Cannon staff judged during the Holiday break, and selected two winners.

Braelen Hill, 30, and a second year graduate student, used sword handles as the design shape for the winning tap pull.  After a visit to Cannon and a sampling of their Red Jacket Ale, he was inspired by the look and feel of the military heritage displayed throughout the restaurant.   He said “It’s the place itself that provided all of the inspiration.”

Plemmons presented Hill with a scholarship check for $1,000 for his efforts.

Marjorie Pierce, a sophomore studying digital art, won the label competition with a super hero, Wonder Woman style woman holding a cannonball aloft and standing between to cannon wheels.  “Women are powerful and loaded like cannons, so I made her be the cannon”, said Pierce.

Her prize was a certificate for $50/month for food and beverage at the restaurant for an entire year.

The contest was coordinated at CSU by David Mitchell, Director of Enterprise Development, and Dahlia O’Shields, Marketing Coordinator for the College of the Arts.  “We hope to be able to develop similar opportunities for our students across a wide variety of disciplines in the future”, said O’Shields.  “They gain so much confidence from the experience, the company gets to utilize, in this case, the artwork, and the bond between CSU and the community is further enhanced and strengthened.”