OSSA

Ossa is a new Tasmanian winery that required a visual identity and suite of labels for its first vintage. The visual identity needed to tell the story of land and family honestly, simply, and impactfully. The design solution needed to be memorable and distinct with a sense of place. The design was pitched at the top end of the market and was critical in positioning the brand as a premium offering.

The fine wine category is increasingly competitive, which sees new entrants coming to market at an alarming rate making the ability to stand out a paramount concern as the competitor set is so broad. Wine packaging also has a lot of uniformity built in, most wine bottles share the same form, and the designated label area is relatively standardised. Category tropes are embedded through years of traditional practice, so positioning the brand and establishing a unique graphic language to create something new and impactful with shelf presence and table appeal presents the most significant design challenges.

The winery is named after Mount Ossa, which rises from the pristine wilderness of Tasmania’s Central Highlands. Mount Ossa is a dramatic landmark carved by ice and wind. Rugged and commanding, framed by twin dolerite peaks, it is Tasmania’s highest mountain. We wanted to reference the mountain's form in the design solution. However, we chose not to depict the mountain literally; rather, we opted for a typographic solution that was suggestive of the mountain's form with stacked letterforms creating the word OSSA dynamically and playfully. There are multiple logo arrangements: a stacked symmetrical version referencing the symmetrical nature of the mountain’s form and a stacked version representative of the staircase forms that are naturally present in the dolerite columns. Blind-embossing and textured black stock help position the wines as premium offerings.

The launch of the OSSA wines, particularly the award-winning Pinot Noir, has seen the brand establish itself as a newcomer to notice. A year after its launch, the wines have a solid customer base who love the brand and the wine. The wines are now listed on many of Australia's top restaurant's wine lists, a testament to the design solution.