◄ Case Study
A digital wine experience
Timeline
March 2022
8 months
Services
Branding
UI / UX Design
Custom Development
Custom Template Build
Animation
A premium wine experience
Waddesdon Wine is a well known brand within the industry, but this project was about bringing them to the forefront of the consumer for the first time, with a bespoke website experience.
The aim was to create something that told their story, while ensuring their carefully selected product was at the forefront for a seamless shopping experience.
To ensure we really got a sense for who they were, we headed out to Waddesdon Manor for a full day discovery session. Here we got to see the cellars, understand the legacy and surround ourselves with the many facets of the brand. We tasted the wine and brainstormed all the possible creative solutions that could bring this site to life in a sophisticated and subtle way, suitable for an eCommerce experience.
Digital Storytelling
Part of this project involved defining the key design aesthetic in collaboration with Waddesdon. This included creating a colour palette that would appeal to their target demographic and accentuate the premium yet accessible brand standing. We chose warm, light neutrals and a dark wine red to complement the existing Rothschild navy blue and gold. We also incorporated the Rothschild marque as a more prominent design feature and motif – using it to prompt clicks and exploration.
Digital Storytelling
Part of this project was refining the brand elements in collaboration with Waddesdon. This included creating a colour palette that would appeal to their target demographic and accentuate the premium yet accessible brand standing. We chose warm, light neutrals and a dark wine red to complement the existing Rothschild navy blue and gold. We also incorporated the Rothschild marque as a more prominent design feature and motif – using it to prompt clicks and exploration.
The Rothschild arrows are used as a navigational cursor takeover to encourage users to explore imagery.
The Waddesdon Wine marque is being used to accentuate the bottle on hover, enticing users to click.
The Rothschild arrows are used as a navigational cursor takeover to encourage users to explore imagery.
The Waddesdon Wine marque is being used to accentuate the bottle on hover, enticing users to click.
Waddesdon Wine have an extensive wine catalogue, but a select few wines deserve special attention as they are more closely linked to the Waddesdon brand and business. For these wines we did a photoshoot – so their images could be better highlighted on the site. The shoot was simple, with the main focus being highlighting the wine.
We chose to keep a clean light warm background to complement the rest of the colours on the site, and lean into perspective of the bottles to give a sense of movement and show the wines in a more premium light.
Waddesdon Wine have an extensive wine catalogue, but a select few wines deserve special attention as they are more closely linked to the Waddesdon brand and business. For these wines we did a photoshoot – so their images could be better highlighted on the site. The shoot was simple, with the main focus being highlighting the wine.
We chose to keep a clean light warm background to complement the rest of the colours on the site, and lean into perspective of the bottles to give a sense of movement and show the wines in a more premium light.
Motion Theory & Story Telling
A huge theme for the site revolved around storytelling. We knew it needed to have horizontal movement to mimic scrolling through a book, and this is exactly what happens as soon as you land on the Waddesdon homepage. It was imperative we struck a balance of function and movement – ensuring the customer can still easily access and navigate to the wines, while embarking on a Waddesdon experience at the same time.
Because Waddesdon have so many partner wineries, it was important to showcase them on the site. We created a dedicated wineries page, that allows the user to explore the wineries behind their favourite wine.
There are a lot of small details on the Waddesdon site that help bring the experience to life. Paired with beautiful imagery, storytelling and a lot of history – it’s a site that you can dive deep into to explore the amazing wines on offer as well as get at the Waddesdon brand.
Key results
Flexible Content Management
Customised wine quiz
Custom Development