While what we do at The Wine Society hasn’t changed fundamentally since 1874 and our underlying principles still guide us, how we do what we do is constantly evolving. Several years ago, we wrote to members to let them know that we wanted to step up the pace a bit, to play catch up, overhauling our systems but also making sure that we look and sound relevant – not just for wine lovers today but for those of the future, too.
Since bringing creative in-house (a first in our history, though we’ve always written our own copy) we’ve been able to continue to do this much more seamlessly and cost-effectively. We hope that everything you receive from your Wine Society and your interactions with us, do more than just match expectation. We want the passion we share for the wonderful product we all enjoy, to shine through in everything we do. In a way, though, we also hope you don’t always notice! For example, the team have been working on the recent brand refresh for more than 18 months and have gradually been updating our look and feel over that time. It’s often only when there’s a change to a logo or font that people sit up and take notice, though!
Senior designer Peter Barnes (pictured above with studio manager Mel Eastwood) led the project and is passionate about recrafting a brand like ours for a modern, digital world: ‘Modernising a heritage brand requires a deep respect for its history. Starting my career here just before our 150th anniversary celebrations gave me great insight into that rich back-story. The refreshed logo, for example, is actually a lot more respectful of older logos in terms of colour, in particular. It’s simplified and pared back and now much more adaptable to wherever it’s going to be used, on the printed page, website or our social channels. It sits a lot better with the kind of photography we’ve been introducing and complements the aesthetic of the page and our refreshed tone of voice.’
It takes teamwork to look and sound our best
Peter is supported by graphic designers Louise Stettler, a longtime Wine Society member, who has enjoyed in particular designing our new seasonal magazine and Matthew Potter, whose strong digital design skills have helped in creating graphics to work on our website and social channels. The team is working on packaging, signage and van livery. Refreshing these will take place as and when stocks are run down and leases renewed.
Refreshing a brand isn’t just about look and feel, it’s also about how we sound – something that’s crucial for an organisation like ours where we want the voice of our experts to shine and for our members to enjoy reading what they have to say, drink in their passion, be curious, but also feel trust. Creative content copywriter Kate Allen joined the team at a crucial point in the project and was tasked with rolling out our new tone of voice guidelines and keeping up the momentum.
Studio manager Mel Eastwood says that since joining us three years ago, ‘the studio has grown, not just in capacity but in creativity. Our three designers and creative content writer joined existing wine editors Jo Goodman, Martin Brown and Steve Farrow to form our studio. Everyone has a slightly different skill set meaning we complement and learn from each other. The depth of knowledge and experience of the existing writers has been invaluable to those newer to wine and The Wine Society. The brand refresh is by far the biggest piece of work we’ve undertaken, working on it alongside day-to-day projects. We’re incredibly proud of it and we hope you are too.’
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