Not often does a brand agency get to revitalize a brand they created 20 years ago. 300FeetOut was lucky enough to get that opportunity with Arlequin Wine Merchant. A wine store for wine drinkers in the know, Arlequin has deep expertise in the industry, a massive inventory, and a knowledgeable charismatic team. They also had a brand, website, and brick-and-mortar strategy conceived before the wine barrel.
We started with the wine (naturally). When you have thousands of bottles, that’s a lot of wine. Our development director personally worked with the executive team to identify the pros and cons of various inventory systems. They ultimately decided to move forward with Square, which is actually point-of-sale software that is adding features for inventory management.
As the team was working to input their inventory, we worked on uplifting the brand. The old logo was crafted to compliment and closely resemble its neighboring restaurant Absinthe, known for it’s hamburgers, fine cocktails, and old-school cool. Our new strategy involved not only complimenting Absinthe, but setting it apart. If that wasn’t already a tight rope to walk, we were simultaneously working on the brand of its other next door neighbor, Arbor. We had to make sure these three brands worked together in harmony, while also giving each a distinct identity of their own.
The new logo is modern class (note the san serif typography) without being old-school stuffy (gone is its old serif based typography). The color palette works seamlessly with its family of brands next door, each with their own primary color and shared accents that work together. Even the typography was updated to appeal to a modern day demographic without off-putting the old school connoisseur.
Pairing the new store with the fluid harmony of the three Absinthe Group brands working together—and you’ve got the perfect blend of brand project success.
services
Brand Visual Identity and Expression
Brand Foundation Building
Brand Guidelines
IA/UI/UX Website Design
Custom Responsive Website Development
Content Management System
Content Strategy
SEO
awards
Vega Awards
Davey Award – Brand Identity/Style Guide