Product Strategy

Design Process

User Research

B2B

Lean & Fast

Design Sprint for New Wine Label

Develop new wine label for off-premise distribution under a tight deadline

objective

the details

Timeframe: 2 weeks

My Role: Project Management, Research, Design

Sector: B2B Consumer Packaged Goods, Wine

Tools: Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop

summary

Faced with surplus wine and a time-sensitive opportunity with a major off-premise buyer (large grocery store), Vino Noceto required a new label design within a critical two-week window to meet the holiday season demand.

problem

Need a New Wine Label in Two Weeks

Surplus Wine Finally Finds a Home But Doesn't Have a Label

The equivalent of 2,000 cases of red wine had been languishing in a tank (and using up valuable storage space) for two years, but the winery's the off-premise sales director had finally found it a home. In order to get the wine out the door in time for the holiday season, we needed to design a label in only two weeks.

As this loyal winery dog can attest, many off-premise buyers (e.g. Costco, Grocery Outlet, Safeway) sell wine at deep discounts. Vino Noceto was concerned that offering its existing wines at these bargain rates could negatively impact brand perception, particularly among loyal club members. To avoid this risk, a distinct, non-competing label was required.

research & findings

Six Designs Get Rapid Feedback

#1

Based on existing brand artwork.

Ratings

Internal: C-

Consumers: D

#2

Based on defunct label design.

Ratings

Internal: B+

Consumers: C

#3

Based on defunct label design.

Ratings

Internal: C+

Consumers: D

#4

Based on defunct label design.

Ratings

Internal: C+

Consumers: D

#5

Based on existing brand artwork.

Ratings

Internal: A

Consumers: C+

#6

Based on my art & competitor research.

Ratings

Internal: mixed

Consumers: A

Choosing a Design

Modeled on existing label layout. One of the greatest challenges when designing a wine label is to fully consider the three-dimensional nature of the packaging. As the paper wraps around the bottle, the edges of your illustration disappear around the cylinder's circumference. In addition, matching label sizes reduces printing costs. As such, I used one of Noceto's existing labels as a template for all six designs. As you can see in the design for the Noceto Sangiovese label, there is a clearly demarcated design space for illustrations and legally required elements, like brand name, appellation, grape varietal, and more.

Limited timeline requires pulling from existing work. As I put together the five design prototypes, I referenced: (1) Noceto's existing artwork portfolio; (2) a now-defunct label that I'd redesigned almost a decade before; and (3) my own artwork that I'd be willing to license to the company. When pulling from my own portfolio, I prioritized illustrations featuring animals, as consumer research shows that labels with animals outperform competitors. I also visited the local Costco and Whole Foods to browse their wine sections. Given the short timeline, I hypothesized that one of the redesigns of Noceto's defunct label would be the final selection.

Five days after starting the project, we were ready for feedback. I created six designs in total, and they were all shared internally with the sales, marketing, and winemaking team. In order to avoid bias, nobody was informed that I'd illustrated design elements. Internal feedback included nuggets like:

"My two preferences are #2 and #5 with a strong consideration for #6 with some modifications"
"Out of these choices in their current layout, I like the two that use the Riserva artwork best, though they each need some polish. I specifically like v5 most."
"I didn’t like v5 at all – until Bobby claimed he liked it. So, I printed it to size and actually found I liked it – sharp, modern, clean."
"I like the owl. I agree it needs a tweak. We do have big owls, seeing them all week during the nights."
"owl in the trash pile"
The incorporation of "di" between Sangiovese and California is very innovative and gives a sense of heritage, I like that!

Consumers have a resounding favorite. Simultaneous to the internal feedback, we sought input from customers. All designs were printed and taped to wine bottles (covering the existing label), then presented to Tasting Room visitors for feedback. I was not present for the Tasting Room interviews and, instead, wandered San Francisco's Ocean Beach with screenshots of the labels and asked people where they shopped for wine and which label was their favorite. Consumers gave their resounding approval to label #6, the owl, which was based on my personal artwork.

In the end, we chose to move forward with the owl (design #6). Although consumers liked the internal favorite (design #5), they thought that it looked too much like olive oil. Key internal stakeholders also appreciated that the owl design was a stronger deviation from the existing brand, increasing the probability of attracting new customers and decreasing the wine's impact on brand reputation.

application

Label Finished before Deadline

Design Refinements Bring Label over the Finish Line

The day after we chose our final design, I drove to the winery to iterate with the team. By the end of the day, the design was finalized, and we were ready to submit the label to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). TTB approval is required for any wine sold in the United States and typically takes 3-5 days.

The final label had several important updates relative to its predecessor. First, I added hand-drawn constellations to the background, which drew the eye down toward the important grape varietal designation, "Sangiovese di California". Second, all illustration lines were refined to have thinner, more defined lines. Third, a gold bar was added to frame the lower margin. And finally, the product description was traded out for a UPC code.

application

Defining the Details with Gold Foil & Capsules

While waiting for label approval, we ordered label samples from our printer (to select a shade for the gold foil) and capsule samples. We wouldn't select the capsule until after label printing, and we had one week to choose our foil color for the label. Fortunately, we work with a fantastic label printing house, and our representative sent us a packet of example labels with her own recommendations. We went with her preferred color, Gold #427.

By the time we received the labels from the printer, we had a collected a wide variety of capsules to test. The internal team selected to final contenders, a matte black capsule and a gold capsule. We then presented those options to consumers, and the opinion was split, with a slight preference for gold. However, when I visited local stores, it was clear that premium wines only used gold capsules when they had an exact color match. Due to budget and time constraints, color matching was not an option, so we went with the black capsule. As I was off-site during the decision-making process, I used lots of arrows and circles to ensure that the final selection was clear.

learnings

It's Possible to Design a Label in Two Weeks

Learning 1

Listen to your customers & don't forget competitor research

If we hadn't solicited feedback from consumers, the team would have moved forward with design #5, which customers (appropriately) thought looked like an olive oil label. In addition, when choosing a capsule color and bottle size, competitor research indicated a clear path. Bottles priced at over $20 were always tall, and if their capsules were gold, they were an exact color match to the label. Given the wine's anticipated price point, it was a simple decision to choose a tall bottle and black capsule.

Learning 2

Time is the enemy of perfection, but it's possible to do well enough

The final result was more beautiful than anticipated, and though I'd love to make a few tweaks, the label looks fantastic on the bottle. We were also pleased to hear that our label printer displays Noceto's new wine/label on their design showcase table at conferences and symposiums.

addendum

P.S. In Case You're Curious

These are the original owl and branch illustrations.

For all three illustrated items – the owl, branch, and stars – I vectorized the drawings so that I could make the pixel-level edits, allowing for ideal balance and ratios. Then for the branch, I did an entire reworking where I pulled the shape into photoshop and erased designs into its gold outline.