Tangent Wine
The Goal
Tangent is a wine brand in the portfolio of the Niven family, winemakers with vineyards and tasting rooms on the central coast of California. The Tangent label is built on flavorful light wines. The vibe of the brand was meant to be fun and light, yet serious about the winemaking process. Working with the studio Makers & Allies, I contributed to the re-brand of Tangent as well as their expansion into canned wine and the addition of rosé to their varietals. Our work included a label redesign, the creation of photo assets to accompany the new brand direction, and social media guidance. Our aim was to reinterpret the mood that the brand was aiming for, making it more modern while adding color, youth, and vibrancy.
The Label Design
Artist and designer Kayla King created watercolor artwork to serve as the basis of the new bottle label design. Her paintings were worked into geometric shapes inspired by mid-century motifs. I worked with the Makers & Allies team to adapt that artwork onto a can design and saw the new design through to production. Overall, the new labels introduced a burst of color that the previous labels were lacking, with the curve of the circles conveying movement and the imperfect patterning bringing a sense of playfulness. The typeface was also updated to a modern, minimal, more geometric sans serif. To interpret this design onto the brand’s cans, working with creative director Sarah Deiter, I broke the watercolor artwork free of the geometric shapes in lively splashes and splatters. By enlarging the design to bring more focus onto the details of the watercolor elements and allowing some metallic to shine through the can’s wrap packaging, we brought an eclectic mix of textures onto the can’s smooth surface.
The Content Planning
Our content was planned to bring life to the new Tangent packaging. I collected inspiration for a series of shoots that conveyed a light, easy, weekend mood
Because our work included curating monthly grids for the Tangent social feeds, I was able to collect photos that could serve as inspiration for our shoot and populate the feeds with sourced photography. I wove together original photos and found material for the social feeds, and worked with the Makers & Allies copywriter Danielle to bring a voice to the revived brand.
Inspiration for the Tangent brand aesthetic
An example of Tangent social feed planning.
The Photography
The studio’s production team and I, along with photographer Jason Keller, planned a series of shoots to capture the new bottle and can designs and provide content for the brand presence. Color palette was a valued factor in production planning. For example, we shot at the Madonna Inn, a kitschy pink local landmark. We gave our models fun leisure activities to participate in during each shoot: lounging by the pool, cooking a meal, playing games, bike riding, and more. We wanted shots to feel spontaneous, natural, site-specific to the winery’s central coast home, and playful. The brand would stand for daily celebration, a bright spot in an industry that can take itself extremely seriously — but with the winemaking quality to walk the walk behind it.
The Result
Our work resulted in plentiful content for the Tangent social feed, website, advertising, and other channels. Tangent received a revival in popularity and a successful expansion into canned wine. Tangent wines are available in grocery stores and wine shops around the country.
