Number one
Many of you have been following our entry into the wine and vineyard business for over two years now, something we truly appreciate…and we love sharing it with you! It is by the far the most exciting time of our lives as we are finally starting to see some of the fruits of our labor coming to fruition.
The wine business takes patience…lots of it. Years are spent maturing the first vineyard crop and newly made wine also has its aging process. This doesn’t even account for the time spent scouting and purchasing the perfect property, land development, planning and more planning until you can’t plan any more…but still have to. It takes paying attention to every detail, something I thrive on.
While we are still working on many things to make this all happen, we have had some fun projects going on behind the scenes…one being WINE LABELS!!
A wine label is a very public and private statement, an extension of the winery owners themselves.. So much goes into it….you either start with a logo (for us the pig and the crown) or a name, and let your imagination take you from there. We actually started with “Noble Pig”, a name born to me in my wine marketing class at UC Davis many years ago. It only took off from there.
I believe a wine label captures not only your brand’s personality, but the personality of the wine as well. This is why I prefer a more classic style of label, one that will convey the wine’s elegance, depth and maturity with an “old world” feel.
I think my label designer reiterated what I was trying to get across by saying, “The goal is to create a label that ignores the humor of the pig and brand name, and presents as a straight, elegant design.” Yes! Yes, that is what I was trying to say for so long but couldn’t get the words out, thank you Chris for reading my mind.
Quite honestly, when I stroll down the wine aisle in the grocery store I feel as if I’m touring an art gallery. There are bold abstracts, classic still lifes, pastoral landscapes…they are more than just packaging, they are works of art. In three square inches a wine label is to convey the vision, story and character of the wine, often a very difficult task. However, when done well, a wine label is the perfect example of art, craft and design found in everyday life, something everyone can relate to.
So, while many winery owners might not share their label preliminary designs, I feel we are all friends here and connected in many ways. I have come to value all of your opinions, which is why I have chosen to share with you some of our very first drafts.
I would love to have your feedback.
Many of the labels have only subtle differences but mostly we are concerned with things like paper color, size of the pig, shape of the label, font, asymmetrical composition and the use of decorative borders. Changing the pig was something we also explored but in the end felt consistency was best.
Designing a label is not easy, it takes a lot of analysis and thought. However, by continuing to focus on a consistent and deliberate visual message, I believe a wine label can become an iconic and meaningful design.
Thank you in advance for your help. We will consider all of your opinions in the next stages of development.
Number two (above)
Number three (above)
Number four (above)
Number five (above)
Number six (above)
Number seven (above)
Number eight (above)
All designs crafted by Chris Noud of NowDesign.
