&Walsh uncorks the “stuffy” world of wine with Stompy branding

New York studio &Walsh has branded personalised wine subscription service Stompy, which hopes to inspire people to “sip more and snob less”.

Stompy offers a range of international small farmed wine and matches bottles to your taste profile. You can also set preferences for shopping choices, choosing natural, vegan or organic wine.

“The entire visual language is very simple,” says &Walsh founder Jessica Walsh, explaining that the branding work aims to challenge the “stuffy, snobby stereotypes surrounding wine and instead open up great wine to more great people.”

The studio has crafted a series of patterns, an animated logo and packaging assets for the subscription service. The name Stompy comes from the art of grape stomping – an integral part of the traditional wine-making process, explains Walsh.

She says the team was particularly inspired by the “motion and repetition of stomping”, which resulted in an extruding type which “repeats and extrudes” when it’s animated. The 3D type is used for the bold wordmark, as well as for copy across branding.

This idea is further emphasised through branding patterns which mirror the repetitive nature of stomping, according to the designer.

“Buying wine should be as easy and fun as drinking it”

“We aimed to create fun language and visuals that anyone could understand, regardless if they know about wine,” says Walsh. It’s part of an attempt to make the entire wine-buying process more enjoyable, she explains. Brand illustrations are wide-ranging, from a solo cup to a refined wine glass, while photography includes more off-kilter imagery like doughnuts and roller-skates.

Walsh adds: “Often time spent buying or trying wine is an overly complicated process riddled with terminology only a few people understand, and most are left feeling stupid or confused. The process and journey of buying wine should be as easy and fun as drinking it.”

The brightly-hued colour palette, a trademark of &Walsh design, is a nod to the different types of wines and grapes. This aims to make the choice selection as clear as possible, Walsh explains. There’s a pink for rosé, yellow for white wine and blue for sparkling.

More patterns, which take the names of the wine varieties such as red, white or sparkling, are used across the website and on UI. They have also provided the backdrop for product photography, and help to guide people browsing on the website.

What do you think of Stompy’s branding? Let us know in the comments below.