Posted by Rita Mu
New Zealand wineries are demanding more from the designers and printers of their bottle labels as a means of influencing consumer purchasing decisions at the point-of-sale.
Inhouse Design’s Arch MacDonnell said it was critical for winemakers to invest in their labels to remain competitive in the market.
“In what is becoming a saturated field, it is imperative that wine labels stand out from the crowd,” he said. “I think they have a huge influence on point of sale. I think that increasingly people are influenced by the label when buying wine.”
MacDonnell said that while wine label design in New Zealand had been traditionally “relatively conservative”, designers and printers were now increasingly testing new boundaries.
“I think in recent years, we’ve seen some really innovative work coming out of New Zealand, so I think designers and printers are doing a great job,” he said.
Entries to this year’s Pride In Print Awards have shown that designers are pursuing intricate detail and embellishments such as foil, embossing and die-cuts, according to judge Mark Sullivan.
“In fact, it is world class, and something everyone involved in this sector of the industry should be very proud of,” Sullivan said.
“This year’s entries were very diverse, simple spot colour through to complex multi-colour with embellishments, printed with the whole range of processes, flexo, offset, letterpress etcetera.
“It was a pleasure to see and work with such high-quality entries, although it made the judges’ job extremely challenging. The smallest of faults dictated the end results.”
Awards manager Sue Archibald said that wine label entries had grown significantly since they were given their own section.
“We gave them special recognition a few years ago by making them a separate category and the response has been wonderful,” Archibald said.
“The strong design feel has made this a very innovative and colourful area for the judges to adjudicate, and the competition is now the strongest ever.”
This year’s Pride In Print Awards Evening will be held tomorrow, 20 May, at TSB Bank Arena in Wellington, New Zealand.