Case Study INTELLIGENCE made visible PROJECT Art & Science Wine Series
CLIENT Fresno State Winery
C AT E G O R Y Packaging
ACCOLADES 2014 American Advertising Awards District 14 - Gold Student ADDY, Illustration - Campaign Fresno - Silver Student ADDY, Illustration - Campaign
CASE STUDY | ART & SCIENCE WINE SERIES
Design is intelligence made visible. DON NEWGREN
PROJECT BRIEF Fresno State Winery
PAGE 3
CREATIVE PROCESS I’m a Nerd
PAGE 5
DESIGN PROCESS Reinventing the Wheel
PAGE 6
APPLICATION Intelligence Made Visible
PAGE 8
PROJECT BRIEF Fresno State Winery The Fresno State Winery approached my Professional Advertising Design class to create wine labels to help promote the new line of Art & Science Wine. Kevin Smith, the Marketing Supervisor of the Winery wanted the labels to reflect how wine making is a blend of art and science, as well as feature our Art and Science departments at Fresno State. All of the wines are student crafted in small lots, for the best quality. The Art and Science Wine Series consists of four different wines:
• • • •
Pythagorean’s Serum fig. 1 - Existing Wine Label
Abstract Theory Depth Perception Molecular Structure
Inspired by the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Di Vinci, Kevin saw this as a blend of both art and science and used this as a starting point for our inspiration.
Kevin noticed a shift in the wine market, as wine has become more trendy with the Millenial generation. However, unlike Generation X and older, Millenials aren’t into the taste of the wine, and are mostly into the label aesthetics or the name of the wine if they’re catchy or trendy.
The following points were made:
•
The labels must be harmonious together, but must work alone.
•
The Fresno State logo can be understated, as the client does not necessarily favor the logo.
•
Label images must represent the wine’s name both scientifically and artistically.
•
Break into the new target market of the Millenials (18-29 year-olds).
CLIENT’S GOALS •
Target Millenials (18-29 year-olds), without scaring off existing clients, Generation X and older (30+).
•
Capture immediate response from a consumer, something that catches someone’s eye when they’re in a store.
•
boost recognition of the Fresno State Winery Brand as a contemporary winery that cares about quality as well as the campus it is proud of.
CASE STUDY | ART & SCIENCE WINE SERIES
CREATIVE PROCESS I’m a Nerd I’ve always been a bit of a nerd. I really went full-out with this project, delving into areas in which science and art meet. My influences with this project were MC Escher’s woodcuts and prints , optical illusions and also the Magic Eye books from my childhood. Each wine had a specific name created for them by the winemaker to reflect a different department on campus. I wanted to take each wine and show the intersection of art and science, while paying homage to the departments.
P R E PA R AT I O N Brainstorming
I N C U B AT I O N Research / Sketches
I L L U M I N AT I O N Refining, Considering Project Limitations
I M P L E M E N TAT I O N Final Idea
While brainstorming ideas for this project, I was reminded of my childhood when I owned these Magic Eye books. These books had pages full of random patterns, in where if you stared at the pages long enough, you can see a hidden image. This led to my realizations that optical illusions is the direction I wanted to go for these labels because optical illusions were where art and science met, just like winemaking.
M.C. Escher’s drawings and prints were my main inspiration for these labels. Escher’s prints are known for mathematical illusions, and I also saw them as fascinating and beautiful to look at. I also was inspired by Gestalt Psychology studies, data visualizations and mathematical renderings of geometric shapes. I always believed that data can be beautiful and that I wanted my love for both science and art to come through in this project.
I knew that each wine label had to be unique to its own name, but work together as a series. I think this was the challenging part of this project is getting each to connect to the other. That was when I decided to implement iconography. By giving each wine label its own “identity,” I was able to connect the fact that each referenced a mathematical equation and can be rendered in 2D, thus solving the challenge of showing both art and science in the labels and making all four work together.
After deciding how I was representing each wine, I had to narrow down the many different theories out there for each wine and also how to unite all four wines. I decided to take the equation or theory “identity” and create an aesthetic pattern that will represent the artistic side of the winemaking process. I also chose four colors to represent each wine, but incorporate it in the identities somehow, so that further unites them as a single brand.
CASE STUDY | ART & SCIENCE WINE SERIES
DESIGN PROCESS Reinventing the Wheel Although the Winery didn't request an actual rebrand, they did want to launch this series of wine to "soft target" the Millenials. I knew that the existing wine labels (see fig. 1), while very nicely put together, missed this mark. I chose a tetrad of four bright colors that matched in intensity and saturation and went across a spectrum. This tetrad is based off of the magenta color of Pythagorean's Serum (fig. 2), which was the first wine I worked on and extrapolated from there.
CAP
The cap’s foil represents a chosen color that I felt matched each wine’s description. I paired this with the wine’s icon, so as to quickly identify it from the others. For example here, with Pythagorean’s Serum, the wine was described as a “smooth and velvety blend featuring soft tannis with a big plum fruit and leathery finish.” I felt this deep and bright magenta both popped, creating attention to itself but also reflects the “smooth and velvety blend” of the wine.
PAT T E R N
The wine’s identity is then used solely as a part of a pattern, that incorporates all four wine colors.
NAME
fig. 2 - Pythagorean’s Serum
I paired each wine’s name with it’s corresponding equation or mathematic representation, to emphasize what the pattern and the identity is based on.
fig. 3 - Molecular Structure
fig. 4 - Abstract Theory
Pythagorean’s Serum (fig. 2) reflects the Math department on campus and that offered a well-calculated elegance. I chose the ambiguous Necker cube. While this also reflects how the Pythagorean theorem explains right angles, which are featured in the cube, it also shows how deep and velvety the wine because the Necker cubes offer an ambiguous dimension of space. Molecular Structure (fig. 3) is a wine to commemorate the Chemistry/Biology department. I chose to use the molecular structure of ethanol, which is the basis of alcoholic drinks.
fig. 5 - Depth Perception
The idea for Abstract Theory (fig. 4) was to reflect any department that deals with abstract principles. I decided to focus on the abstract theory of four-dimensional space. The shape I chose to represent this wine was the Tesseract, or a hypercube. This cube is a projection of four-dimensional space. Depth Perception (fig. 5) is a wine to highlight the Art Department, focusing on Photography. I chose to go with the Fibonacci Spiral, also known as the Golden Rule, which is used for proportions in a lot of works of art.
CASE STUDY | ART & SCIENCE WINE SERIES
APPLICATION Intelligence Made Visible The following images are examples on how this project was and could've been expanded. The original parameters asked for the labels and a tabletop display (fig. 6) that would be used in restaurants or at wine tastings. I also went on to include waiter cards (fig. 8), which help waiters sell the wine when asked by a customer and also wine posters (fig. 7). The purpose of the posters was to help promote the fact that we are attempting to break into a younger crowd. These posters can be treated as giveaways at wine tasting events and also another way how people can also express their love for both art and science. Overall, I really enjoyed this project. It brought my love for science and my love for art together, and I was able to express both sides of myself. The Fresno State Winery was really fun to work with, and Kevin Smith really knew the marketing and research behind his industry. While my labels were not chosen to be used for this series, they have won two ADDY awards, one Silver for the Fresno Advertising Federation and a Gold from the District 14 American Advertising Awards. They are currently in the national stage of the American Advertising Awards.
fig. 7 - Tabletop Display
fig. 7 - Posters
fig. 8 - Waiter Cards
CASE STUDY | ART & SCIENCE WINE SERIES
THANK YOU for your time & consideration! I know as a designer, it’s not just the end result of a project that’s interesting but how it got there. I felt that it was important to create these case studies for you to enjoy and to get a look at how my nerdy brain functions. I try to not only deliver the best design possible, but the process that comes with it as well. If you loved what you saw here (or are absolutely horrified) let me know, my contact is below! I would love to talk more about design with you.
wanna talk? Special Thanks Martin Valencia, Rebecca Barnes, Frank Ruiz & MJR Creative Group, Kevin Smith & the Fresno State Winery.