Wine Label Design | Neil Tully MW
Great wine is great wine, regardless of the packaging. Crappy wines are crappy wines, regardless of packaging. That being said, great packaging plays an important role in how we discover new producers. Successful designs are able to tell some of the wine's story from the shelf.
In this second interview of the series, I speak to Neil Tully MW, the Founder and Creative Director of Amphora - a design agency specialising in wine packaging design, wine labels, and branding. Neil is a fascinating and unusual cross section of exceptional wine expertise and commercial creative prowess. He is my dream Venn diagram!
Neil Tully MW
The one thing that Neil's impressive résumé neglects to tell you is how delightful, friendly and supportive he is. His résumé hints at his passion for design and branding, and this was overwhelmingly clear each time he'd pause our conversation to run across the room to find an example that he 'must' show me.
A large shelf lined with wine bottles formed the backdrop to our interview - a visual representation of the work that Neil and his team has executed. The shelf also serves a practical purpose as it mimics the consumer's experience of perusing a wine shelf in store.
The highlight for me was when Neil momentarily dashed away from his screen (again) to grab a block of wood depicting a vineyard scene that was hand-carved by an artist. 'Touched by the hands of the artist' was a phrase that this MW uttered more than once. Regardless of whether you believe that wine label designs influence your purchases, we can all sit back in awe of the skill, patience and artistic talent required to etch a detailed scene using humble chisels and knives. I think it's a quality that many wine lovers recognise and appreciate in finer wines. Because, in many ways, the winemaker can be seen as an artist.
Question 1: I am guilty of choosing wines by their labels. Perhaps, because of Instagram, more so than others. For me, there's a correlation between considered label design and the wine inside - the attention to detail given to the outside generally reflects the attention given to the wine inside. However, consumers are often dubious about excessive attempts to grab their attention and money. Is this balance between award winning, hedonistic design and consumer opinion something that you consider in your work?
In our work the main focus is to respond to the needs of our client’s brief. Sometimes this will have a strong commercial emphasis, while at other times aesthetics will drive the brief. Design can be highly subjective, so we tend not to let consumer opinion override a well thought-through and well written, strategic design brief. If this is done well, the design will work for the right consumers. Design for design’s sake should ideally be avoided.
...we tend not to let consumer opinion override a well thought-through and well written, strategic design brief... If this is done well, the design will work for the right consumers.
2. Do you find that, generally speaking, consumers value the same qualities as creatives? Or do you find that your personal standards differ from the public? If so, how do you resolve this in your final design (in terms of finding the balance between the client's requirements, your expertise and consumer preferences).
In commercial work, our personal tastes mean nothing! Good design that answers a brief is what matters. People often ask me “How do you keep coming up with new ideas?”, that is a very easy question to answer because every new design brief has a different set of needs and the creative that results in response to that brief will always be new and different. Very often our job is to communicate the ideas or the personality of our client, their vineyard, or the brand they wish to develop. Each will have its own, unique DNA – we just have to find that thing.
Question 3: Front labels are, arguably, most consumers' first introduction to a new wine brand. In your professional experience as a brand agency owner, what do you think makes for a great wine label design?
A balance between appropriateness and disruption is often at the heart of a great wine label design. Our category is dominated by visual codes and clues which are well understood by many consumers. These offer guidance and reassurance, but the wine market is a crowded place and brands that manage to stand out and offer something differentiated at the same time as “belonging” will often succeed. Les Dauphins is a very good example of this, it conforms and yet it stands out.
...brands that manage to stand out and offer something differentiated at the same time as “belonging” will often succeed.
Question 4: I'm notorious for disregarding back labels as I find the information inconsistent in terms of useful information for wine enthusiasts. What do you think back labels should include…perhaps a better question is: what information do you think wine packaging should include?
Wine labels, front and back, should contain as much or as little (as is legal) information as is appropriate for the wine in question and its positioning. It is not so much about how much information, but the clarity with which it is expressed. Most importantly I think we should stop thinking about “front” and “back” a bottle can have two labels, each offering complementary information, but too often the “front” label is seen as a façade, the “back” label as something rather functional and not for close inspection.
CoGW: At this point I realised that Neil had not used the word 'story'. I asked him if this was an intentional ommission, to which he replied:
Yes, I think so because it's somewhat overused. Often it's used as a descriptor for something that sometimes either isn't a story or it's a story for a story's sake.
I would choose to use another word or expression which is a fundamental truth, and I think I think that's a sort of simpler concept in many ways. It's a more difficult one to grapple with because fundamental truths require hard work to get to the root of what they are. They can be masked by stories. But the truth will out. I think having designed for three decades now. Things that are based on really good fundamental truths will endure.
CoGW: Neil used the example of a client who planted vines last year. The wine may only be available for sale in five years. The client is far-sighted and already thinking about design.
... but we know what their fundamental truths are all about, so we have a good thing to be working with, to focus our minds on and to make the central core of what that label, what that brand, what that whole property is about. And I love that sort of real purity of thought.
On the other hand, you know, not everyone has the luxury of doing that; it's not always possible.
CoGW: We talked about how some bottlings may not need a story. But they will have a fundamental truth.
That's why I avoid the word [story]. There's usually something slightly more important there which we, of course, might end up representing as a story. But I don't think that the story is at the heart of the matter.
Much depends on on volume, price points, and what's driving the market. People's responses can be much more instinctive. Brands can carry with them something that is a much faster decision. By the time people have tried to process a story, it could be too late.
CoGW: I'd hoped to avoid this question but, ultimately, I was dying to know how being a Master of Wine influenced Neil as a designer and a creator:
The whole point of being a Master of Wine is that you understand the process from the very beginning to the very end; not only how grapes are grown but how wine is made, how it's sold, what contemporary issues are around it, and especially what it tastes like. It gives a terrific amount of context. As a creative, my team and I don't have to do a heck of a lot of research around the background and the context. We can focus on the creative bit...and won't have to work out where Bardolino is and why a rosé from here is becoming quite interesting.
Wine is a big category and a potentially confusing category for customers. Therefore, if we can cut through that with a bit of clarity, it means we can hopefully bring our client's vision to life within that big and complicated world.
Question 5: What is your favourite wine label? Do you love the wine inside too?
One example would be Albariño Palacio de Fefiñanes.
The wine is lovely! For me this is a totally single-minded bottle, and so is the wine within. By conventional standards this may not win design awards, but I love the way it is what is it. From the somewhat unconventional chocolate brown capsule, to the one colour print - this breaks so many rules! And yet it somehow looks so good: Quirky, verging on eccentric. There is a slightly uncomfortable relationship between the heavy border and image within, it makes no concessions to “good taste”, it is what it is. The typography is a riot of individuality – so much personality. Best of all, it doesn’t look “designed”!
Question 6: Are wine label/packaging design awards valid? Do they serve any role in a consumer's purchasing behaviour? Or do they purely acknowledge great design work? (I'm specifically thinking about our local Winemag Label Design Award where I don't see any affect on consumer choices…and have noticed that the wine producers sometimes don't even acknowledge the award).
This is something quite close to my heart. Very often design awards are made based on aesthetics with very little regard to commercial success. I would argue that design effectiveness includes whether sales are successful. Therefore it acknowledges a certain level of consumer belief in the design. Great design alone is not enough, with a great label customers will buy a bottle once; if the wine is good, they will buy it again.
Great design alone is not enough, with a great label customers will buy a bottle once; if the wine is good, they will buy it again.
Rather than ask Neil for a wine recommendation, I insisted on showcasing the Les Daupins Côtes du Rhône Reserve. It is one of my favourite label designs and happens to be one of Amphora's projects.
Each time I see this label on a wine shelf it catches my eye. It's the combination of teal, deep red and cream accented by bronze that my brain cannot ignore. Along with just the right amount of decorative flourish. The colours feel modern while the ornamental borders, banners and typeface choices are a nod to tradition. This is reinforced with the classic vineyard illustration, as well as the embossed bottle. It is a modern, updated interpretation of the familiar old fashioned label style that we all recognise. It never feels like it's promising more than what it is. Sure, I may sort of understand what to expect from CdR and the price point. But I've also seen the way other consumer react to this bottle. It's charming...never promising or pretending to be anything other than a satisfying, easy drinking red.
One of the last things we chatted about was the similarities between tea and wine. We both adore tea and recognise the history, traditions, styles and exquisite packaging associated with this beverage. There was something endearingly relatable about the way that Neil confessed to feeling slightly overwhelmed when browsing a boutique tea store. He may be a Master of Wine...but he gets the trepidation and intrigue involved in being a consumer faced with shelves of delicious options. And, where wine is concerned, he's spent 30+ years helping us make good wine choices.
Connect with Amphora Design
Website: amphora.co.uk
Instagram: amphoradesign
See the previous interviews about Wine Label Design with Instagrammer and wine aficionado, Nicolas from FamousWine, and look out for the next interview with local designer Brenden Schwartz of Bravo Design, who runs a wine branding agency and is co-owner of the most beautifully designed wine brand (with delicious wines too) .
