Vandalia Maple Works is a West Virginia based maple syrup manufacturer who provides locally sourced, pure maple syrup to high-end retailers, boutiques, and resorts. The company strives to place West Virginia on the map as a producer of high-quality maple syrup. Their visual identity utilizes hand-lettering to resonate with the manner in which each bottle of syrup is carefully produced. I worked closely with the founder to create a full branding package that accurately represented his vision of his new company.
A meeting with the client was held to learn about the vision they had for the company’s identity. The logotype and visual elements were then sketched by hand to match the ideals set forth by the client; pure, traditional, and local.
After a logo was chosen it was scanned and traced in Illustrator to create scalable vector art work. Multiple color-ways were applied to determine which colors best fit the tone of the brand. Earthy colors were used to mimic the nature and colors of maple syrup.
After all visual elements were turned into vectors they were compiled into lock-ups. Multiple lock-ups were tested to determine the best way each element interacted with one another. The final lock-up would be printed on the bottle directly or adhered via a paper label.
The final lock-up and logo were applied to business cards and a paper label to see how they would function in the real world. The business cards and paper label were mocked up on aged paper for a classic aesthetic.
It was determined that the lockups would function best as a pure white design applied directly to the bottle. Five bottles were labeled using vinyl stickers cut through an electronic cutting machine. Each label was applied by hand and the excess vinyl diligently removed.
