Cheers! Output gives wine investment a sparkling new look for 2022

Investing in wine is marred by misconceptions. It can feel complicated and intimidating, a little bit 'old-school'. So Output set out to help them revolutionise the category and excite audiences through a new brand proposition and an inspiring visual and verbal identity.

As Johanna Drewe, creative director and partner at Output, puts it: "Our task was to communicate that fine wine is a no-brainer, must-have investment. It's exciting and credible, marrying the heart and mind – it can diversify someone's financial portfolio and life. This played out visually and verbally to create a brand that could sell wine as a unique investment opportunity, unlike any other."

Hand-drawn illustration

Inspired by the chalk markings on barrels, Output introduced energetic illustrations that reflected Cult's restless character and combined them with a unique colour palette. The hand-drawn element is a nod to the passion of producing wine, an acknowledgement that this is an investment product with a human touch.

Cult's boundless love of fine wine is at the heart of the new identity, reflected in the bespoke logo mark, which is based around a wine stem and bowl. The logo design scales down across platforms, forming a logo system to support current and future Cult products.

Along with the graphical elements, Output also looked at how well Cult presented itself in the digital space.

Easy sign-up flow

While investing in wine can be complex, Cult makes it simple by taking on the burden for their clients. Output introduced more of this ethos into the website experience: an easy sign-up flow with distinctive brand moments and intuitive modules that behave as tools to visualise wine investment.

More broadly, Output developed ways for the team to share their knowledge in a uniquely 'Cult' style, from displaying data across the site to the design of investment reports. They coupled this with codes borrowed from the fintech and investment world to stand out against the wine category while showing Cult's depth of experience.

Output worked closely with Cult's internal product team to deliver key pages that express the brand's evolved character. Alongside a comprehensive set of online brand guidelines, these will form the basis of future product launches.

"We launched Cult with a vision to transform wine into a credible asset class," says Tom Gearing, Co-founder and CEO at Cult. "It's been our mission ever since to revolutionise the way fine wine investment works. Output's strategy has been extremely strong throughout, and the creativity has been inspiring and brilliant. We're excited to see where it takes us."