When Lucy and her team approached us to create a unique brand that captured the true nature of the Isle of Wight, we leaped at the opportunity. As a creative drinks agency, our talented team of creatives knew exactly how to create a new whisky brand with the tenacity to step away from what it means to be a traditional whisky brand and carve out a new space within the category.

The Challenge

Our job was to develop a brand identity reflecting the incredible craft of a new-to-market blended whisky and the island it calls home.  It was imperative to create a visual identity and creative branding that had the power to stand the test of time and seamlessly integrate new product offerings as the business grew.

The project spanned brand strategy, naming, identity design, and packaging design – all packaged within a comprehensive toolkit.

The Insight

After considerable market research across the Scotch, Island, and English whisky markets, we saw an opportunity to be Island Whisky’s younger, more disruptive sibling. We identified brands using unique packaging design and artistry to stand out from the crowd. Whilst realising that Scotch and English whisky approach packaging quite differently.

The English whisky category is still evolving and lacks a distinctive look and feel across brands, whereas Scotch branding design typically heroes a more traditional approach, showcasing the harsh and rugged terrain of the Scottish hillsides.

The Approach

With this knowledge, we flipped the whisky narrative on its head, showcasing the Isle of Wight’s more approachable, warmer, and welcoming side that makes it inherently unique.

The Name

It was imperative to create a distinctive name connecting to the brand’s homeland, without becoming twee and unrecognisable within the whisky category. Wight Whisky was strong and ownable, whilst clearly demonstrating a business that knew who they were and what it stood for. 

THE IDENTITY

The Wight Whisky wordmark combines a knocked-back sans serif type and a neo-classical inspired brandmark, creating tension between the refined nature of the whisky and the artistic expression of the island.

Embracing the island's riches with an earthy yet vibrant colour palette. We root our colours with a mild cream tone, using a deep-sea green and sunshine yellow to speak to terroir. Ocean blue is our accent colour with charcoal grey as a copy font and detailing in muted brushed gold.

The Art Direction

Our Island spirit was brought to life through our creative design principles, which highlighted the natural allure and diversity of the island, embraced the artisanal spirit of the brand's founders, and expressed the moments had with friends on an island that is a home away from home.

We showcased the island’s richness through a wanderer’s candid lens, rich textural finishes, and a vibrant colour palette inspired by an ownable sundowner moment, connecting back to the Isle of Wight getting more hours of sunshine than the national average per week. Considered details and finishes speak to a premium positioning, whilst more organic/expressive elements lend to our pioneering spirit and the desire to share the moment with our friends, family, and beyond.

THE LABEL DESIGN

Our label design reflects the fusing of traditional methods with modern techniques that work together seamlessly to create Wight Whisky.

A contemporary minimalist bottle labeled in a more traditional uncoated paper, featuring a die-cut island silhouette and gold foiled contour lines, creating an overall design that looks and feels premium. Combining these elements ensures the packaging sits comfortably within the premium sector whilst grounding the design in the terroir which makes Wight Whisky and the Isle of Wight so unique.