Silver Packaging Design · 2021
Dark Horse Wine Branding and Redesign
- A' Design Award 2021 Silver Winner in Packaging Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: E&J Gallo
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 26,920
- Verification code 011E64AA73 · Verify this award
About Dark Horse Wine Branding and Redesign
Dark Horse is a wine packaging and branding design created for a California wine brand. The design is based on a flexible system that covers the entire packaging portfolio and allows for future additions. The labels are printed on premium paper stock in metallic and matte finishes, which amplifies color and flavor cues. The brand icon is placed front and center on each label. The label layout is simple, so the contents of the bottle can be understood at a glance. The aim is to express quality and taste clearly on the shelf.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- forceMAJEURE's approach was to elevate the brand’s quality & premium perception and consider the entire packaging portfolio, developing a flexible design system that allows for future innovation to guide and inspire the entire brand look and feel, including the touch points of portfolio strategy, POS and collateral materials, retail inspiration, and brand content. FM also wanted to help increase competitiveness on shelf among the varietal set through an uplifting new branding and packaging. The key challenge as a design agency was to amplify the desire for the brand through a bolder look and feel.
- Production Technology
- forceMAJEURE set out to redefine what is possible for the brand, starting with a new look and feel through the label design, elevating and refreshing the packaging to match the quality and taste that the brand is known for by its loyal consumers. The labels are printed on elegant, premium paper stock in both metallic and matte finish, amplifying color, flavors, taste, the icon, and the savoir-faire that Dark Horse is celebrated for. The Dark Horse icon has a front and center placement on the label, and the navigation system of the label is simple, allowing the consumer to see in a glance what waits inside the bottle.
- Inspiration
- forceMAJEURE was asked by E&J Gallo Winery to rebrand one of the growing brands of wine in their portfolio, Dark Horse, a modern expression of wine from California. Dark Horse is a brand known for delivering surprisingly exceptional wine at an affordable price. By focusing on perceptions of quality and taste, along with a bolder, more uplifting brand story in both packaging and communications, FM set out to create a visual world and a 360 branding portfolio for Dark Horse as it boldly moves forward to reach new consumers.