La Cave Aixoise needed packaging that worked at retail, not just in presentation: premium enough to justify the price, open enough not to intimidate, and consistent across wines that have nothing in common except the shop selling them. I built a modular system on typography and material contrast, so every product is distinct on the shelf and unmistakably part of the same range.
CLIENT ▸ La Cave Aixoise, Aix-en-Provence, France
YEAR ▸ 2013
AREA ▸ Wine & Spirits — Retail, Private Label
AUDIENCE ▸ Shopper, Retail Buyer
SCOPE ▸ Brand identity, packaging system, print and retail applications
SCALE ▸ 2 SKUs, 2 labels, 3-month engagement
ROLE ▸ Brand Designer (Freelance)
TEAM ▸ Solo worked with owner
PROCESS ▸ Shelf and category audit → positioning → modular packaging system → production files and retail applications
YEAR ▸ 2013
AREA ▸ Wine & Spirits — Retail, Private Label
AUDIENCE ▸ Shopper, Retail Buyer
SCOPE ▸ Brand identity, packaging system, print and retail applications
SCALE ▸ 2 SKUs, 2 labels, 3-month engagement
ROLE ▸ Brand Designer (Freelance)
TEAM ▸ Solo worked with owner
PROCESS ▸ Shelf and category audit → positioning → modular packaging system → production files and retail applications
The Challenge
Premium positioning and broad retail appeal, which usually pull in opposite directions
A range of unrelated wines that had to read as one coherent offer
A system flexible enough to absorb new products without a redesign each time
Premium positioning and broad retail appeal, which usually pull in opposite directions
A range of unrelated wines that had to read as one coherent offer
A system flexible enough to absorb new products without a redesign each time
Strategic Approach
Design for the shelf, not for the page. Three seconds and forty competitors
Use typography and material contrast as differentiators, not illustration or ornament
Modular from the start, because a retail range grows every season
Design for the shelf, not for the page. Three seconds and forty competitors
Use typography and material contrast as differentiators, not illustration or ornament
Modular from the start, because a retail range grows every season
Creative Solution
A visual language balancing refinement and accessibility, with craft as the signal instead of trend
A fixed label hierarchy, so shoppers find the same information in the same place on every bottle
Variation carried by color and material, with structure held constant across the range
A visual language balancing refinement and accessibility, with craft as the signal instead of trend
A fixed label hierarchy, so shoppers find the same information in the same place on every bottle
Variation carried by color and material, with structure held constant across the range
Scope & System
Modular packaging architecture across 2 SKUs
Defined label hierarchies and typographic framework
Production-ready files and rules for extending the range
Modular packaging architecture across 2 SKUs
Defined label hierarchies and typographic framework
Production-ready files and rules for extending the range
Deliverables
+ Logotype and identity system
+ Packaging design across [X] SKUs
+ Label hierarchy and typographic framework
+ Production-ready files
+ Print and retail applications
+ Logotype and identity system
+ Packaging design across [X] SKUs
+ Label hierarchy and typographic framework
+ Production-ready files
+ Print and retail applications
Role & Leadership
Brand Designer, positioning through production.
The constraint that shaped it: this range grows. Anything that worked only for the first six bottles was the wrong answer, no matter how good it looked.
Brand Designer, positioning through production.
The constraint that shaped it: this range grows. Anything that worked only for the first six bottles was the wrong answer, no matter how good it looked.
On The Work
In retail wine, packaging design accelerates a decision made in seconds.
A system does that better than a set of individually beautiful labels because the shopper learns it once and reads every bottle faster afterward.
In retail wine, packaging design accelerates a decision made in seconds.
A system does that better than a set of individually beautiful labels because the shopper learns it once and reads every bottle faster afterward.
Designed a typographic mark that anchored the packaging system
and reinforced brand recognition across SKUs
and reinforced brand recognition across SKUs
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