Essentially Geared
The Need
Essentially Geared is a canned wine brand by winemaker Grant Hemingway, built on the concept of making wine unfussy and able to adventure — no corkscrew needed. They planned to debut with a red, a rosé, and a chardonnay. As a brand-new brand, they needed all assets, starting from the ground up.
The Brief
Working with the Makers & Allies studio with creative director Sarah Deiter, I was fortunate to have a hand in much of the brand foundation, starting with the investor pitch deck design. We build the brand from square one, including logo, website, and can design. I was fortunate to work with the team, especially on packaging assets, marketing strategy, brand messaging, merchandise, photo and video assets, and content direction. We created the hashtag #screwcorks as a key part of the brand messaging and planned brand imagery around the outdoors, irreverence for stuffy wine culture, and a quirky sense of humor.
The Inspiration
Our team was inspired by the fact that with canned wine, no other equipment was needed — the idea of only essential gear, no fussy corkscrews and corks, no breakable glass. With that concept as our jumping point, we crafted the brand personality as one of adventure, fun, and recreation — we saw the cans at outdoor concerts, campgrounds, fishing trips, barbecues and beach bonfires. Through Instagram, we found inspiration in ‘van life’ influencers and other adventure-seekers, and in the bright colors of brands like Patagonia, Topo Designs, and Poler.
The Design Build-Out
I helped the Makers & Allies team develop and populate the new Essentially Geared branding throughout packaging, assets for investor partners, and consumer-facing assets for retail, social, and other digital and print channels. A focus of the brand messaging was the notes and pairings for each varietal, which we featured in copy and design throughout the brand presence. In addition to the Essentially Geared logo, we used several icons throughout our design, including a ‘shaka’ hand, a can tab, a tent, evergreen trees, pizza, a bowl of ramen, a chicken leg, candy, and other tasting note and pairing foods.
A slideshow from the Essentially Geared home page.
Packaging, graphic assets, and merch with the Essentially Geared design themes.
The Social
A big source of inspiration for the brand social feed was the content of Whalebone magazine, a Montauk-based surf and culture magazine. We liked that their posts were imperfectly coherent in their aesthetic, with content that seemed slightly random, but was ultimately bound by their sense of style and humor.
To populate the social feed, the creative team and I created original photography and video (more on that below). I also coordinated and managed collaborations with several influencers to create user-generated content and create a diverse look and feel to the assets. In addition, the Makers team and I created graphic elements, like playful gifs, to add to the melange. I worked with copywriter Danielle Murphy to bring a voice to the brand.
The inspiration for the Essentially Geared social grid and the interpretation come to life.
The Photo & Video
To create a collection of photo and video assets and illustrate the vibe of Essentially Geared, I traveled with the Makers & Allies team, along with Rotor Collective for videography, to San Francisco. I produced the shoot, coordinating the team and securing locations as well as props and wardrobe options. I found an Airbnb apartment we could use to stage a house party in, with a rooftop garden where we’d barbecue and have our models play giant Jenga. I also planned for us to shoot at popular picnic spot Dolores Park, at a food truck festival with live music, on a Mount Tamalpais hike, and a bonfire at a north bay pebbled beach. We also traversed the city by bike and skateboard, shooting spontaneously in front of murals, bodegas with vintage-style signage, classic cars, and whatever else caught our eye.
Following the shoot, I played a key role in post-production, including shot selection and editing. I then used these photos to populate a number of brand assets, primarily digital channels like the website and social media feeds.
The Outcome
It was exciting to the Essentially Geared brand into their debut and launch, and continue to oversee the development of brand assets as they grew and expanded their varietal offerings. From days spent at the whiteboard with the team brainstorming concepts to working with producers of branded merchandise and managing influencer content, it was thrilling to touch so many part of the brand development and growth process.
