People:
Holly Harman

Holly Harman-Wine Label Design, Inc., winery owner, wine marketing consultant
Healdsburg, CA

From great golf, very refined resorts, superb support cast, and conviviality of location; all work together to give you everything anyone would want for a small corporate or personal meeting in Wine Country.  I have tried to bring you articles that present some interesting people of Wine Country.  Hoping this information will spark creative thought for components of a meeting. 

Let me elaborate.  Some companies have gone the route of developing a private ‘label’/blended  barrel of wine for future, highly unique, corporate gifts. (A barrel is 20+ cases of wine.)  But, once you get the help from an award winning winemaker at a prestigious winery, you will need a ‘label’.  Here is a lady that knows art, winemaking and branding—Holly Harman.

Recently, Symtrek Partners wanted a label done and we started asking around.  There are probably 6 good designers in Sonoma and Napa.  But, Holly’s name always came up in conversations around high quality label design that would say a lot about a company, a wine and a brand; just from looking at a label.

What starts the process?  “First, I must manage the clients’ expectations about the process; it is not a simple process, and good results take time—about 2 to 6 months” says Holly Harman.  She continues, “I have done labels for wineries all over the world and language, time zones and familiarity with the process, on my part and the clients’, will dictate the time requirement.”  But, ultimately, a good designer must listening to the client more than talking seems to be a good personality trait.

Secondly, “I need to know if this is a total branding assignment in which the client wants me to work on the complete image.  This means I look at bottles, graphics for the closure, you know, synthetic, cork or screw cap, and all the labels,” says Holly.  It seems, from up close, she needs to know what the client likes and dislikes in labels they have seen in the past.  It is also important to know the varietal she is working to label.  “The persona of the company, the look and feel the client wants and the varietal is really my starting point when I put pen to paper.”  It is after all the clients’ vision and that is the boundaries she works within.

Her most adventurous label project was for Bray Vineyards.  For a new red they wanted something that was provocative, memorable and fun.  She gave them “Brayzin Hussy Red”, which has now turned into a Festival around the sketched logo of an old timey girl in a claw foot bathtub drinking a red wine.  I guess it has now become a cult wine.  Also, the Lost Canyon Winery was successful in a different way in that they were focused exclusively on branding an upscale image of sophistication.  Both, highly successful wine labels.  The most impressive label design is the one she did for the USS Sequoia Presidential Yacht. Take a look at both of these labels online.

From Best to Worst.  “The worst labels I have seen are the labels that the winery owners did on their computers. No design knowledge what so ever and a very amateur look.  Or worse yet, their kids designed them. You can always spot a homemade label. The really sad part is that the owners don't even know how bad it really is. Another worst; labels designed by a committee of people with no design experiences.  Really sad,” says Holly.  After years of doing 25 to 50 labels a year she can spot a good label.

The real perplexing and frustrating process in label design is getting the label approved by the Feds.  The TTB or Alcohol, Tobacco, and Trade Bureau do not seem to be consistent in approving label design.  So a good designer can save some time simply based upon historic experience of what gets approved.

In the end we all want to know what it will cost to get a label done.  That is a moving target to nail down, but I think a custom label with panache for a corporate purpose can be done for $1,500 to $3,000.  That should get a company through the approval process.

Holly Harman graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute and plied her skills as a graphic designer and painter for 25 years.  She even taught graphic design at San Francisco City College.  She has spent 8 years in the advertising business in San Francisco with clients such as Chevron, Round Table Pizza, and Lorimar TelePictures and has done the set design, writing and logo work for Gumby.  Her Stepfather is the creator of Gumby.  If you don’t remember Gumby your children and grandchildren will know Gumby.

In addition to her label design work, Holly and her husband own a vineyard and winery that has been producing award winning wines since 1983.  Their Cab has been a consistent 92 point wine.  Her son is also an aspiring winemaker who has been working under the watchful eyes of Helen Turley at Martinelli Winery.