Shwung, a brand of alcohol-free wine alternatives, approached us to design their labels following a forced name change from SOBR. Instead of simply designing packaging, we addressed a more fundamental challenge: how do you sell something that isn’t wine as wine?

Operating in an immature category, we needed to balance recognisability with clear distinction. Lean too close to wine and you risk confusion. Move too far away and you lose the ritual and cultural cues people associate with wine. After a study of wine cues, our solution became a phonetic product naming system, where each product name is written the way it sounds when spoken aloud in its language of origin. Familiar enough to signal wine, altered enough to make clear it is something else.

This phonetic logic became the backbone of the entire identity. Product names and key messaging break into phonetic blocks that stack vertically, shaping label and graphic carrier proportions, spacing, and rhythm. Language defines form, resulting in a contemporary visual system that remains consistent across all carriers while adapting to content. This is supported by a restrained palette of grey, black, and white, with fluo yellow used sparingly as a disruptive accent. The typographic pairing of Feijoa Medium and Founders Grotesk X-Condensed from Klim Type balances character with precision.

The result is an identity that allows Shwung to sound like wine, read like wine, look like wine, and behave like wine, without ever claiming to be wine.