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- Logo design
- Colour palette design
- Typography design
- Photography direction
- Tone of voice development
- Website development
We were contacted by a previous client, who had teamed-up with experts in the whisky industry, with the idea for an all new business built on expertise and a growing passion for rare whiskys. Born from the expertise of seasoned whisky professionals with 15-20 years of experience, the founders envisioned a brand that would resonate with collectors and connoisseurs. The business plan would be built on exclusivity, only releasing a limited supply of whisky at a time, before moving onto the next - each time working with a different distillery to tell their story. Needing everything from a full brand suite - including a brand name, typography, visual direction, and more - to a tone of voice guide befitting of a luxury level service provider and the best practice website to go alongside it, we got to work on what would later become ONE8NINE.
The Challenge
Starting from scratch
Entering the project with no brand assets, no established brand name, no current website, and no brand presence, meant this would be a full brand ideation project. Whilst starting with a blank canvas presented a world of creative possibilities, it also came with its challenges.
Each element had to be carefully thought out, from developing a brand identity and tone of voice that would resonate with the right audience, to creating an engaging and immersive web experience.
No direct ecommerce functionalities
Unlike our typical projects, where the primary goal is to drive conversions, the business model here was to inform people about the product, which can only be purchased by directly reaching out to the brand. The founders wanted to not just make an exclusive world around the brand, but actually make it an exclusive product too.
This meant that the site would have no ecommerce functionality. Therefore, the focus shifted away from guiding users to the checkout, to keeping users engaged and immersed in the brand’s story. It would be key to encourage site exploration and curiosity, whilst allowing visitors to understand the rarity and craftsmanship of the whiskys. This was a shift from our usual approach, requiring a larger emphasis on design, brand story telling, brand experience, and visual impact in order to sustain interest and build a presence within the whisky industry.
- Brand ideation
- Webflow website
The Solution
The Brand
Building a brand from scratch
Whilst we’d be building the brand from scratch, that’s not to say we had little to go on. The business had a unique model with a brand story built in, we knew we’d be appealing to a more affluent customer, and we knew that the product would be sourced from distilleries in the Scottish highlands.
The first thing we decided to tackle was the brand name. We went through many variations, but eventually settled on ONE8NINE, which would be the number of whisky bottles produced for the business’s first release. A bit of authentic history to be baked into the brand from the start, whilst the stylisation as ONE8NINE allowed us to be more adaptable with a wordmark and logo.
At the same time as the brand name was being developed, we were also working on the other brand building blocks. Namely: colours, typography, tone of voice, and photography styles.
Colours
Wanting to stay true to the luxury identity and evoke a sense of opulence with the product, whilst staying true to its roots in the Scottish Highlands, we landed on a diverse colour palette of deep colours - green, blue, red, and a supporting cream and beige. This colour palette played into the heritage and luxury building blocks by harkening back to the colours often seen in nouveau riche style living settings.
Typography
As a vital component in any brand suite, the typography chosen for ONE8NINE needed to stay true to the aesthetic we had established thus far. After all, the fonts used would reflect the air of sophistication that surrounded the brand whilst ensuring clarity and consistency across all platforms.
We chose Paradisian Bold, a maximalist, serif typeface for all headings, to further highlight this luxurious and high end aesthetic. It’s a classic-style typeface, which are almost synonymous with books and other physical media. Seeing as it would be ending up on a whisky bottle, it seemed like a great choice.
We also chose Gotu Regular for paragraphs and web copy. Whilst less maximal, it’s a much easier read typeface and that’s ultimately preferred for web settings. Finally, the addition of the cursive typeface, Austin Pen, for small details, would turn the storytelling element of the brand to the max.
Tone of voice
With these heritage-filled stories built into the business, stemming, not just from the distilleries the founders would be working with, but also the founders’ experience as whisky experts, it was clear that the brand’s tone needed to lean into this element from the start.
We further established intimacy, humility, and detail as key elements of the brand’s tone of voice. So we were focused less on selling the product, but on educating the customer about the brand, the product, and the distilling process.
Photography style
Whilst the product was sourced from the various distilleries in the Scottish highlands, it would be used in a very different environment. Therefore, we encouraged the brand to embrace a variety of photography styles, that would each contribute to the distinct identity of ONE8NINE in their own way and would resonate with different audiences and contexts.
We chose to simultaneously use elegant product shots that would highlight the craftsmanship to lifestyle imagery that captured the uncorking and use of the product. Specifically, we used photography within a members club to further highlight the exclusivity of the product
When it was all put together, ONE8NINE had a distinct brand world, rich with storytelling and heritage, whilst standing out visually.
The website
Knowing that selling the product was not priority one for the website, building ONE8NINE a website on Shopify wasn’t the best option. We instead chose to use Webflow, a website builder made for designers first and foremost.
Webflow would let us create a visually dynamic and interactive experience, which we believed aligned perfectly with the vision for ONE8NINE's brand. It allowed us to incorporate animations, transitions, and interactive elements to help engage and immerse the reader into the brand story.
Additionally, whilst ONE8NINE launched with just a single whisky, the brand was built for expansion. We needed to allow the website to evolve as the brand released new whiskys. With new drops and special editions in the pipeline, we built a web design that allowed for each new whisky to have its own unique identity whilst maintaining consistency with the overarching brand suite. This would make it easier for new releases to be added to the site and explored by the visitors whilst ensuring that each release felt unique.
The Outcome
The new ONE8NINE website captures the essence of the brand - luxury, exclusivity and craftsmanship. Despite the challenges, the focus on story telling and immersive design has proven that it is possible to engage visitors and build a community without selling a product directly.
Using Webflow allowed for a visually stunning experience to be delivered which aligned with ONE8NINE's high-end brand positioning and pushed boundaries of what is possible with digital story telling.
With a strong foundation in place, ONE8NINE is now set up for long-term success, to become recognised in the world of collectible whiskey, and to position themselves in the luxury brand scene. This project exemplified how an idea can be made into a reality with a strong team of creativity, eagerness to learn, and problem solving.
If you'd like us to build a brand for your ecommerce business, contact us.
Every great relationship starts with a conversation. We’d love to talk with you about your next project and answer any questions you might have about Shopify. But be warned… once we get talking about this stuff, it’s hard to shut us up!
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