MOOSH: Ecovative Wine Company
Case Study by Jillian Villafuerte
MOOSH is a conceptual wine company, collaborating with Ecovative to create a unique gift box experience. Each box contains carefully selected traditional wines sourced from various regions around the globe, with a focus on providing a non-wine connoisseur-friendly approach to exploring the different notes and flavors of each wine.
Partnering with biotech company Ecovative, MOOSH also highlights the use of MycoComposite packaging in their promotional mailers. This innovative technology, which utilizes mycelium, is fully compostable and helps combat plastic pollution, one of the planet’s largest environmental issues.
The visual identity of MOOSH draws inspiration solely from mushrooms. The early stages of brand identity development was spent conducting extensive research to understand the intricacies of this fascinating fungi. The design system captures the otherworldly forms that mushrooms can take, while still maintaining a concise approach that showcases the natural wonders of mushrooms through eclectic color palette and dynamic, line-heavy, illustrations.
The objective of this project was to design a brand and packaging that would encourage the adoption of mushroom packaging. The task was to create a promotional gift box for Ecovative to distribute among prospective customers, highlighting the advantages of utilizing mushroom packaging. The wine company associated with the project had to be linked to the flavor of mushrooms, wines that complement mushroom-based dishes, or incorporate mushroom-related terms into its name. With a focus on the exploration of fungi, the MOOSH brand was initially conceptualized using specialized terminology.
However, MOOSH was not always MOOSH.
In addition to incorporating mushroom-related elements into the brand name and visuals, I wanted to tackle the challenge of being unfamiliar with wine. As a newly-legal drinker, comprehending the intricacies of the wine industry can be daunting. It is often intimidating for inexperienced and younger wine enthusiasts to appreciate certain flavor notes and identify suitable pairings. However, intimidation should not discourage individuals from pursuing their love of wine and acquiring knowledge about it. Wine appreciation and education should be more accessible to everyone.
Since my teenage years, I have been employed in the restaurant industry, and over time, I have encountered various pre-shifts that provide information on new specials and the types of alcohol available. In some of Philadelphia’s high-end establishments, our chefs would share their knowledge of wine and suggest suitable pairings for the dishes. Behind the scenes, I observed my colleagues being asked to describe the various wine notes and propose potential pairings to recommend to our customers. As a host, I never had the opportunity to participate, but I was eager to learn about the world of wine. However, without being employed in a restaurant, I was unsure of where to begin. Considering my experiences and desires, I wanted the recipients of this gift box to be able to sample a variety of wines.
At first, my search for wine regions worldwide that produced both red and white wines was fruitless, and I realized it was not a common occurrence. Fortunately, my instructor Abby Guido came to my aid, and we collaborated on the idea of creating a gift box that was expertly curated by Ecovative and sourced from vineyards around the world. This approach would allow consumers to sample a range of wines grown in distinct regions with unique grape-growing practices. By considering prominent wine-producing countries like Italy, Spain, and France, we developed a solid concept that would also enhance the visual identity. At the time, the design (shown below) was static as I was attempting to capture the essence of Mycelium while reflecting the organic nature of mushrooms with hand-drawn type that was inspired by contemporary typography combinations reminiscent of graffiti.
During my research into various wine regions, I stumbled upon the fascinating world of mushroom species that grow worldwide. To my surprise, I discovered an astonishingly diverse range of fungi, with approximately 14,000 species recorded from vastly different climates and environments. Intrigued, I delved further to determine the most visually striking mushrooms and used them as my primary source of inspiration. Some of the mushroom species that captured my attention initially include Bleeding Tooth (Hydnellum Peckii), Lion’s Mane (Hericium Erinaceus), Veiled Lady Mushroom (Phallus Indusiatus), Indigo Milk Cap (Lactarius indigo), Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), Orange pore fungus (Favolaschia claudopusthe), and the list goes on. The images below show these extraordinary mushroom species in order.
After conducting extensive research and deciding to highlight the unique mushroom species in the visual identity, the brand name “MOOSH” seemed like the most fitting choice. As the target audience was younger, I aimed to create a catchy, memorable, and unorthodox name that also alluded to the inspiration behind the brand. Once the name was established, I began exploring various images and typefaces. I steered away from the overly puffy and rounded lettering that was previously considered and instead searched for a typeface that followed similar guidelines to the creation of the name.
Fun and Quirky.
While I continued to look for various typefaces, I was immediately gravitating towards the last typeface, View Display from MP_Type. It maintained the funky and contemporary style I was looking for while also being sophisticated. However, I was still struggling with the imagery. Initially, I had been going for a photographic style but found it difficult as an illustrator to reimagine the images to fit the MOOSH brand. Eventually, I decided to illustrate the mushrooms that had inspired me, and the brand identity began to take shape.
I eventually got to the point of illustrating the mushrooms of my choice/inspiration and the brand identity/label design finally started to come together.
At this point, I was contemplating color schemes for MOOSH. Although my mushroom inspiration had striking colors, I was also exploring a vintage color palette. The shapes of the mushrooms reminded me of the mid-century modern and modular furniture, which had been and still is a popular trend in interior design. Therefore, I decided to draw color inspiration from there. Despite having a clear vision of the foundations, it took some time to select the right color palette. Initially, I was using a bold and funky color with all black, which wasn’t terrible but it didn’t feel quite right yet.
The secondary typeface chosen for the wine year/name was extremely fun and reminiscent of the complex mushroom texture. I feel like this typeface, Narly Designed by Zuzana Licko, from Emigre, elevated the design and allowed for real funky design to continue to grow.
The self-carrier shipping box played a crucial role in the project, apart from the wine bottles, as the primary objective was to showcase the MycoComposite mailers inside the box. Given the unique and experimental MOOSH typeface, I aimed to emphasize it with the gift box. To achieve a more interactive element, I explored the concept of enlarged typography wrapping around the box. Although the sketch below was crude, the final packaging design followed a similar pattern.
In the end, I reversed my color palette, making the bold color the primary identity rather than an accent, and complementing it with softer cream and brown tones instead of a harsh black. Once I settled on my new color scheme, everything fell into place effortlessly.
The next hurdle after developing the visual identity and branding for MOOSH was the creation of the wine mailers. To accomplish this, I utilized Adobe’s beta tool, Fantastic Fold, which allows designers to construct a wide range of packaging designs for 3D rendering using Illustrator and die-line creation.
Determining the dimensions of the box die-line was challenging, especially since the Ecovative MycoComposite mailer needed additional depth, and as I was still fairly new to using Fantastic Fold, it added to the complexity. However, by exercising patience and referring to a traditional mailer die-line as a guide, I was ultimately able to successfully translate my Illustrator die-line into a 3D space.
As I was finalizing the die-line, I also had to refine the design of the box. Although my initial concept had strong foundations, I had to experiment with incorporating illustrations, adjusting the color scheme, and considering how they would interact with the logo, which I wanted to emphasize above all else.
Alongside the box, I designed a shipping label as a finishing touch.
Moving forward, I dedicated several weeks to crafting 3D compositions that truly captured the essence of the MOOSH brand. As we all know, the presentation of packaging is crucial in enhancing the overall appeal of a product.
Below are photos of final renders for MOOSH x Ecovative.
