With a grape-stomping logo, &Walsh makes choosing wine more fun in Stompy rebrand

Picking out a wine isn’t always the easiest or most accessible thing to do; we’ve all been there, stumped by choice and not sure which fruity or woody notes to turn to (and usually end up picking the trusty yellow one or the one on offer). But this is exactly what &Walsh aims to help with in its new work for Stompy, a personalised wine subscription service that strives to get rid of the connoisseur in connoisseur.

Choosing a wine should be a joyful experience, not just for those with a wine-tasting qualification. This is exemplified in the punchy palettes and bold, WordArt-esque type chosen for the branding of Stompy. “The colour inspiration came from different wines and grapes,” explains Jessica Walsh, founder of the New York-based creative agency. “We made the colours saturated and vibrant to bring out the playful side of the brand.” And it’s not often you see visuals of this kind associated with wine – with it being an industry that’s typically associated with crispness, classiness and language for the few – so this specific take is more than refreshing. “Wine shopping is often complex and riddled with confusing language, so we wanted this brand to have an approachable look and feel that is fun and easy to interact with,” she continues to tell It’s Nice That.

The brand identity features a mix of media branding from stickers to posters, billboards to packaging. It’s repetitive but not in the boring way. In fact, it’s quite addictive, and references the art of grape treading – which also lends itself to the brand name, Stompy. “We were inspired by the repetition of stomping for the animated extruding type and repetitive patterned typography,” says Jessica. These graphical elements are creatively paired with colour-blocked backgrounds and friendly photography, presenting arms in mid-“cheers”; people munching on doughnuts and enjoying a sip of wine in just about any vessel they like. This includes flutes, fancy wine glasses, jars or cups –the brand, clearly, is for everyone. “It didn’t feel like a challenge to make wine fun and approachable,” adds Jessica, “it felt like a relief!”

“We all love drinking wine,” she concludes, “but often the terminology and process of searching for a wine is complicated and confusing. It was a joy to help create a brand for wine that doesn’t take itself too seriously.”