Water2Wine

Art Direction | Branding | UI Design

Overview

Water2Wine is small-batch urban winery franchise that creates an inclusive environment for all wine drinkers. They let the customer guide their own unique wine experience, whether that means exploring new wines to try, being educated about wine, or creating your own custom batch of wine with friends.

Objective

To rebrand the franchise so that it better appeals to their target audience and feels more inclusive and less gendered while creating a cohesive look and feel across multiple platforms.

Collaborators & Roles

Maisie Anderson: Website, Motion Graphics, Ad Campaign, Identity, Copywriting, Design Research
Mallory Blackwell: Trademark, Social Media, Packaging, Identity, Design Research
Victoria Nieves: Photography, Ad Campaign, Copywriting, In-Store Posters, Design Research
Naim Carbajal: Design Research, Copywriting

Approach

The trademark used a geometric approach to the letterforms that combined a touch of traditional with a new modern look. For the ad campaigns and other branding assets, it was important to constantly emphasize the customer’s experience with the brand as opposed to what the brand is offering them.

Existing Logo

Redesigned Logo

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

· Customizable options
· Knowledgeable and friendly customer service
· Large selection of unique, high-quality wines
· Low-histamine and low-sulfite wines
· Use grapes from all over the world in their wine

Weaknesses

·Inconsistent branding
·Low engagement on social media and content that doesn’t tell the audience who they are
·Lack of systematic packaging
·Mis-marketing themselves; feels gendered

Opportunities

·Advertising and marketing their business
·Partnering and collaborating with nearby businesses and events
·Host events and live music more to drive in social crowds
·Use grapes from all over the world in their wine

Threats

· Saturated area for wineries
· The pandemic affecting business; unstable and uncertain times in the economy
· Labor shortages and staffing issues
· Losing customers to nearby wineries and big box retailers

Brand Position Maps

Key Takeaways

· Traditional wineries typically appear to be more exclusive and upscale, whereas urban wineries appear very casual (W2W fits in the middle)

· W2W fits into a more spontaneous setting, unlike more high-end wineries that are more scheduled by nature

· The taditional vineyard wineries tend to have a more narrow selection since they are not importing their grapes

Who is W2W?

What we offer:

A personalized small-batch winery experience and a broad selection of high quality wines.

What we value:

Creating an inclusive community for wine drinkers at any level.

How we do it:

With knowledgable and friendly staff that tailor your experience to you.

Why we do it:

To share our love of wine with a community of people who can all enjoy it.

Mission Statement

We create an inclusive space for all wine drinkers to enjoy our broad selection of wines made with world-sourced grapes and years of experience. By getting to know you and finding what you love, we are able to share our passion and knowledge of wine with our community.

Onlyness

Water 2 Wine is the only small-batch winery that lets every customer guide their own wine experience.

Tagline

for the wine-curious

What does “wine-curious” mean?

· Inclusive of all wine drinkers
· Anyone that wants to know more about wine
· Knowledgeable staff helping to educate you
· Experienced winemakers that create small batches of experimental wine
· Experimentation, trying new things
· Making the customer feel empowered about their choices

Print Ad Campaign

Making the advertisements feel inclusive was critical, and we achieved this by focusing on sensory headlines that describe what a “wine epiphany” feels like in very relatable ways.

Our wine epiphany concept describes to the viewer what it feels like to finally find your perfect wine. The headlines for the ads are told from the perspective of customers to relate back to the brand’s goal of letting the customer guide their own unique experience.

In-Store Posters

A series of posters in the store was designed to emphasize their “World-sourced, Texas Made” ideology for their wine. It would promote W2W’s broad, world-sourced wine selection and highlight information about their origins. The series would also educate their customers in a friendly way on where their grapes come from and how the wine got certain flavor notes.

Social Media

The Instagram feed was designed to focus on a comfortable and inviting atmosphere where you can guide your own wine experience. The feed contains posts about Water 2 Wine’s new wine batches and releases, seasonal offerings and wine tips that encourages engagement from new and returning customers.

Motion Graphics

Because of the fresh, bold and vibrant feeling of the rebrand, we incorporated motion graphics into some social media elements. Instagram stories would act as a spotlight on new or favorite wines. We also designed an Instagram filter that lent to the educational feeling of the brand. The filter would cycle through some of their wines and “match up” the viewer with one to pique their curiosity about what Water2Wine has to offer.

Website Strategy & Design

Feeling personal and inviting was important for the website, from the photography to the copywriting. Our playful and conversational writing style showcases the fun and confident attitude of the brand. Water2Wine’s mission of getting to know you and finding what you love lent itself to creating an online quiz to help new wine drinkers find a wine or style of wine they might like to try. The quiz focused on being slightly educational while still being understandable to those without lots of experience with drinking wine.

Packaging Design

The packaging needed to offer an easy way to keep track of Water 2 Wine’s large selection of wine while having enough variety to be distinct from one another. The result was a numerical system of wine that utilized abstract shapes from the logo in the shapes of the label itself. Each label also consists of unique illustrations hinting at the flavor notes for each wine, allowing consumers to easily choose something that appeals to their individual palate.

Seasonal Wine & Snack Menus

Your wine epiphany is waiting for you, too. Yes, you!
Feel free to interact with this prototype.

Or click here to open the prototype in a new window.

Lessons Learned

This project was my first group assignment and I was amazed at what could get done in a team of people that put their heads down and worked. It sharpened my communication skills and taught me the value of having teammates that each bring a different skillset to the table.

With More Time & Resources

I would design and prototype out the rest of the website including W2W’s story and information about their locations, wine club, etc. I would also love to be able to incorporate more motion graphics throughout the project as that was a really fun addition for me.