How we transformed Jing-A’s online platform into a bold, Beijing-rooted experience that celebrates Chinese craft beer
Services
Design, Development, WordPress
The Problem
As one of Beijing’s pioneering craft breweries, Jing-A had built a loyal following with bold beers that fuse Chinese ingredients with global styles. But their website didn’t reflect that energy or identity. Outdated and visually disjointed, it failed to capture the brand’s Beijing roots, its craftsmanship, or its international ambition.
With a newly refined brand identity in hand, Jing-A needed a digital home that could serve both locals walking into their taprooms and international visitors discovering Chinese craft beer for the first time. Without a site that felt as intentional as their brewing, their story risked fading into the background, diminishing their market positioning.
Our approach
We partnered with Jing-A to build a WordPress platform that embodies their handcrafted, fearless, and unmistakably Beijing spirit. Hosted in Hong Kong for fast, reliable access both inside and outside China, the new platform blends the brewery’s energy with practical functionality. From beer discovery to taproom navigation, every touchpoint was designed to deepen engagement with the brand.
Design rooted in Beijing
Jing-A’s identity is tactile, playful, and deeply local. Think hand-stamped labels, gritty street photography, and fonts that echo vintage Chinese print. But it’s not just confined to the taproom; their logo lives on T-shirts, stickers, and pint glasses carried through hutongs and high-rises alike, woven into the daily rhythm of Beijing life. We translated that aesthetic into a digital language that feels alive and daring.
Our design choice used the typewriter-inspired font Lekton for body text and bold Khand for headlines, creating a rhythm and contrast that mirror the balance of tradition and experimentation in their beers. Paired with their accent colors of orange and yellow, the lighthearted Sunday Morning typeface injects moments of spontaneity and energizes the clean black-and-white base. Throughout the website, Jing-A’s own photography takes center stage, with candid shots of taprooms, brewing moments, and city life grounding the design in real Beijing culture. The overall visual ethos is one of confident, unpretentious craft.
Typography: Khand
Typography: Lekton
Typography: Sunday Morning
Color palette
A simplified beer discovery
One of the biggest frustrations for visitors, whether in the taproom or online, was navigating Jing-A’s extensive craft beer list. The new site solves this with a smart search and filtering system that lets users explore by taste profile, style, category, or availability, significantly enhancing the user journey.
Clean cards, strong visuals, and concise tasting notes make it easy to find a new favorite. For guests at the bar, the site acts as a dynamic digital menu. For fans at home, it’s a guide to what’s on tap or available for delivery. We focused on building a consistent and intuitive experience, exactly what Jing-A needs as a brewery to stay modern and ambitious.
Connecting to China’s digital ecosystem
In China, e-commerce primarily happens on apps like Meituan, Weidian, Taobao, and Jingdong, not standalone websites. Rather than fight that reality, we embraced it.
We integrated QR codes that let users scan and jump directly to Jing-A’s listings on their preferred online platform, seamlessly bridging the gap from brand storytelling to purchase. This integration is a small detail, but for a Jing-A, it means one less thing to manage and one more way to meet customers where they already are.
Brewing confidence, one beer at a time
With a lean marketing team and no in-house developers, Jing-A needed a site they could update easily. We built custom WordPress blocks for beer entries, taproom details, and homepage content so adding a new brew or updating existing beers takes only a few clicks.
Combined with Hong Kong hosting, the site works as a reliable, always-up-to-date extension of the brand identity. Whether you’re planning a visit to their Sanlitun taproom or exploring Jing-A from abroad, the experience is smooth, engaging, and steeped in Beijing culture.
This project was mentioned on DesignRush for Best Chinese Web Designs, check out this link to see more!
“Maples Design was great at managing our concerns and their China-based experience was essential in giving us a platform to reach our global Jing-A fans.”
Becky LaneArt Director
