Westwind Gardens is a plant nursery that is local to Oregon (USA). They produce a variety of certified organic herb and vegetable starts, along with a range of sustainably grown flowering garden plants. Their plant products can be found at stores like Fred Meyers and the Portland Nursery (a garden center). Additionally, they sell produce and an array of pepper products at local markets like the Portland Farmers Market.
Westwind Gardens decided to create a line of hot sauces made from their very own organic and sustainably grown peppers. They intended to sell these hot sauces online and at local markets. To add a sense of identity, value, and trustworthiness to their hot sauces, Westwind Gardens reached out to me to design product labels for each hot sauce flavor.
After presenting Westwind Gardens with several label options, they settled on one that married a southwestern aesthetic with a slightly old world look. This style incorporated two decorative fonts for an antique flare. It also included one key color for each hot sauce flavor. The final design was a warm and personality-packed label that conjured up thoughts of fragrant farm to table meals in sunny, dry climates.
After meeting with the client, discussing their needs and preferences, and reviewing existing hot sauce label designs that they liked, I set to work creating four initial label options.
The first label option had a modern, bold, and crisp feel to it. It envisioned a hot sauce sold at trendy minimalist brunch spots and on the endcaps at local stores.
The second option was inspired by contemporary Italian cooking and offered a hint of edge via the use of a black background with white lettering.
The third option offered a contemporary look with a colorful moment of zest. It incorporated a trendy serif font and a backdrop of line art.
The fourth option married a southwestern aesthetic with a slightly old world look. This style incorporated two decorative fonts for an antique flare.
Two design elements that were important to the creation of a hot sauce label that looked authentic were marks and typefaces.
Westwind Gardens had two marks that I could chose from. One was a crisp, symmetrical option used on Westwind's nursery buildings. The other involved a heron motif and was used in some of the client's business collateral. Ultimately, the client preferred to go with the mark with the heron motif.
I spent some quality time reviewing decorative fonts that might help the hot sauce labels sing. When creating initial label options, I used many of the wonderful royalty free fonts shown here.
