A strong use of negative space by Alpha Box Dice
Letters A - Z
One thing Australian wineries do very well is labelling, they use the front of the bottle as a canvas for creative expression. They're lucky enough not to be restricted by labelling requirements and can place all of the mandatory information on the back of the bottle, leaving the front simple and impactful.
The Alphabet of Wine is an idea from South Australian winery Alpha Box Dice. They're creating a bottle of wine for each letter of the alphabet from A to Z. Twenty-six letters, twenty-six unique winemaking projects that experiment with the diverse varieties grown in McLaren Vale. The labels are designed by Mash Design an Adelaide based design studio. Some of the concepts that have been explored are paying homage to past winemakers, celebrating equality and confronting our misplaced judgements about Sauvignon Blanc.
The label for the letter H stood out to me straight away when looking through the Alphabet of Wine, a 2015 Shiraz called Hercules. Shiraz is known to be a bold red wine oozing strength and power. Hercules is a Greek hero representing strength, a fitting name for this full-bodied red. Alpha Box & Dice describe Hercules as "a gift from the heavens for those who seek rich tannins and dense fruit."
The label features two clenched fists, a symbol of strength and power. The fists form the counters of the letter H. In typography, a counter is an area within a character that is entirely or partially enclosed. It's a nice use of negative space. Typographically I would describe the H as a bold slab serif, once again speaking to the qualities of Shiraz. Beautifully simple and elegantly printed with gold foil embellishment on a light stone-coloured paper.
Another example of using the negative space of a letter?
Oatly is a Swedish challenger brand that produces oat milk and other oat products, recently launching an oat ice-cream that I can vouch is delicious. Oatly has removed all of the counters from their logo, apart from the A. The A has an oat plant as its counter, adding to their natural plant-based ethos.
