While visiting Vinexpo Hong Kong, John sat down with the editor of VINEXPO Daily Magazine to share his thoughts on the latest trends in wine label design and branding.

Towards more funky, trendy design –the expert’s point of view

John Jewell Design was established in 1995 with the sole aim of creatinginnovative branding and labelling for the wine industry. We asked Johnto tell us a little more about his background…

When I started out I had two or threehundred clients in Australia and I woulddrive around and see people at theirvineyards. At that time there were 3,200winegrowers in Australia, and I realisedthat if we were only working on wine,the market was too small. So I went toLondon and had a meeting with MartinCampion, who was head of designfor Direct Wines, and after a shortmeeting we had his account. Today,our core markets are Australia, Chinaand Europe, especially in Norway andSweden.

What are the trends today?
Millennium buyers are the biggesttarget in the world today, and it’s a verydifficult one, because they rarely everbuy the same thing twice – so they’re amoving target. In the past six months, ascraft beer designs have been changingthe world’s thinking on designs andpackaging, the wine industry is tending to follow suit. A year or so ago in thewine industry it was all about stately,classic, distinguished products. Nowthey’re tending towards funky, trendy,out-there, look-different, and be loudoff the shelf. I see a major trend aroundthe world as following what craft beershave done.

What’s the secret to a successful design job?
You can design whatever you like,but it has to be economically viable.Printing techniques vary greatly aroundthe world. We’ve done a lot of sleevedesign work, but production aroundthe world is a bit of a problem withsleeves. Screen-printing on bottles looksfantastic, but logistically, you have aproblem. The world market is looking forsomething new in wine, and our HolyGrail is trying to find out what the nextbig trend will be!

Read the full issue here >