Wedge bring playfulness and charm to Ami Ami whilst shifting low-qual perceptions of boxed wine

Ami Ami’s sustainable approach is about ‘thinking outside of the bottle,’ and with their boxed wine selection, they make doing a little bit of good as easy as drinking quality French wine. The founders and good ‘amis’ challenged Wedge to devise a welcoming yet quality brand from strategic narrative to design, as well as realise an object “that’s worthy of the MoMa store.” Inspired by the story and ethos of Ami Ami, the team have devised a timeless and spirited brand universe that invites you into a charming world of high-quality wine, without rules.

By opting for a smaller and “cuter” 1.5L box (half the size of a traditional boxed wine), the Canadian studio aimed to create a charming impact on the shelf. The design team embraced the 3D proportions of the container, delivering a custom logo specifically designed for the box. The main typeface, Ami Ami Vin, is a custom-created nod to “Vin de France” imprints you find on wooden French wine crates. As Ariane Leblanc, Associate Creative Director explains further, the forms were designed to be “very bold, square and bulky, that felt somehow standard, with not too much personality but just enough!” The typeface appears only in black, whilst Wedge injected colour into the rest of the visual language. The colours themselves reflect the product; red and white. “Ami Ami is designed for retail-first so knowing that the box would sit on the shelf,” Leblanc continues, “it has to communicate the product expectation. The overall feel is soft but fun, with some unexpected colours! It fits perfectly on your counter or in your fridge.”

This friendly and casual character is reinforced further with spirited illustrations, used in places to draw the eye to facts on sustainability impact. “The illustration direction is highly inspired by Italian futurist artist, Fortunato Depero,” Sarah Di Domenico, Creative Director tells us. “Most known for his iconic advertising works for Campari in the 1920s, and for designing the soda bottle in the 1930s.” Therefore, Wedge imagined a modern interpretation of this universe, telling a story of two friends (ami ami). “We worked very closely with Montreal-based illustrator and friend Mathieu Dionne to bring the vision to life, who has been a steady collaborator since Wedge's beginnings.” 

Wedge

Ami Ami