Communal Brands reached out to Mel for help with their new launch from Gatto Grosso winemaker, Mery Ferrara. This wine is a drinkable, shareable, organic Tuscan red that happens to come in a box. This wine is sustainably farmed, and has sustainable packaging.
The wine is called Volpina, Italian for fox. In folklore around the world, foxes are often represented as mischievous, shapeshifting beings. Mel leaned into this to develop a playful painted logotype capturing a fox mid-morph into word.
Volpina feels like summer gatherings - picnics, laminated red gingham tablecloths, and long afternoons sharing wine with friends.The fluidity of movement in the letterforms are a nod to painted script lettering seen at casual Italian restaurants Mel grew up with in the Northeastern part of the United States. The bold red and white palette embodies an elevated casual comfort, while supporting a very mischievous red fox. It also functions nicely as a shelf disruptor.
Creative Direction, Design, Illustration, Styling, and Photos: Mel Barat Bours