Two logos. Three problems. One solution.
After investing decades of equity in a Benziger logotype with a dramatically swashed ‘ziggy’ Z, Benziger had begun using two separate logos: one for retail packaging, another for company materials and estate wines. This approach had 3 major deficits: 1) Having two logos made it very difficult to establish a consistent brand identity. 2) A ‘corporate’ logo sent the wrong message for a family winery like Benziger. And 3) neither logo was upscale enough to reflect Benziger’s new portfolio of small-yield, sustainably produced premium wines.
After investing decades of equity in a Benziger logotype with a dramatically swashed ‘ziggy’ Z, Benziger had begun using two separate logos: one for retail packaging, another for company materials and estate wines. This approach had 3 major deficits: 1) Having two logos made it very difficult to establish a consistent brand identity. 2) A ‘corporate’ logo sent the wrong message for a family winery like Benziger. And 3) neither logo was upscale enough to reflect Benziger’s new portfolio of small-yield, sustainably produced premium wines.
The solution, after an exhaustive typographic exploration, was a highly customized yet restrained logotype that subtly highlights the Z — the only letter that’s not in the word ‘Beringer,’ with whom Benziger is often confused. The logo’s elegant, slightly letterspaced capitals set on an irregular baseline are like Benziger’s wines — sophisticated, but with a sense of play.
The transformation is completed by juxtaposing the logotype with the Benziger Spiral — a brandmark comprising the symbols for the classical elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire, and a spiral that represents the fifth element, Spirit.
The transformation is completed by juxtaposing the logotype with the Benziger Spiral — a brandmark comprising the symbols for the classical elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire, and a spiral that represents the fifth element, Spirit.
