Interview about Simple BIO Wine Illustration, winner of the A' Print and Published Media Design Award 2021
Illustrations and catalogue design for Simple Wine company, which import and sell alcohol and water. Main task of this illustrations was to show organic, sustainable and natural wines, which company offering to clients. All illustrations realized in "paper cut" style where main contour and color sketch was created in Illustrator, and after that was painted and finished in Photoshop.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsAt first, the illustration style for this project wasn’t clearly defined. I was simply going through references when I came across an interesting technique, and decided it was worth trying out. It was only later that I realized how well the paper cut style fits — paper and wine are both deeply connected to nature and organic materials, so the style turned out to be a perfect match.
I wanted the colors to feel like they could breathe. The light green immediately evoked a sense of calm, freshness, and natural simplicity. It reminded me of vineyards at dawn, when everything is still quiet and you can feel the strength of nature. That’s the atmosphere I wanted to convey through the catalogue — the silence in which good wine is born.
Simple BIO Wine was my second project in this style. It all started with numerous pencil sketches on paper, where I explored the best composition — mountains, rivers, and all the elements that made up the overall landscape. Once I finalized the sketches, I photographed each one and brought them into Adobe Illustrator to digitize and add color. Then, in Photoshop, I added depth, shadows, and refined everything to achieve the final polished look.
To be honest, the format didn’t significantly influence my compositional decisions — the illustrations were designed in a way that they would adapt well to almost any layout. The 200mm by 180mm size simply provided a compact, balanced canvas that supported the visual rhythm of the catalogue. It turned out to be a comfortable frame that worked naturally with the content, without requiring major adjustments.
In fact, the illustrations weren’t based on specific real-world landscapes. I explored a variety of photos from wineries around the world, paying attention to how the vineyards, fields, hills, and rivers were shaped and arranged. I used these visual references to sketch my own compositions. The goal wasn’t to recreate a particular place, but rather to capture the overall feeling of nature connected to winemaking — the calmness, the openness, the rhythm of the landscape. From there, everything was translated into the paper cut aesthetic in my own style.
Actually, three months is quite a long time for a project like this. There was no long search for the illustration style, but the process was slowed down by approval delays — it’s a large company, and I had to wait for feedback from several people. After I created the first test illustration in this style and the client approved it, it was decided that the rest of the catalogue would be illustrated using the paper cut technique. All the illustrations were completed in just 20 days.
I simply liked the paper cut aesthetic — it feels warm, tactile, and has a handmade, natural quality that fits well with the theme of organic wine. At the same time, I used digital tools like Illustrator and Photoshop to keep the result clean and precise. The final visual style came out slightly naive, yet modern and recognizable. I think this simplicity is what made the catalogue effective.
This award became proof for me that I actually can create decent illustrations in this particular style. It was a great motivation to keep developing this direction. I saw that the paper cut style has potential not only as a creative technique but also as a tool for visual communication in commercial projects.
During the project, I researched different types of wine, focusing on their characteristics, origins, and production methods. This helped me identify the unique distinctions between them and understand what should be highlighted visually. The goal was not just to illustrate the product, but to emphasize the qualities that truly matter in organic wine culture — naturalness, a connection to nature, and a careful, respectful approach to production. This understanding became the foundation for all the visual decisions in the catalogue.
I didn’t aim to influence the industry, but I do think this approach can be appealing to brands that want to highlight their natural, “living” side. The paper cut style has a warm, human feel — it’s visually distant from high-tech or cold minimalism. That’s why it works well for organic and sustainable products: it creates a sense of trust and sincerity. I believe that in the future, more brands might shift away from glossy aesthetics toward something more tactile and emotional — and this style could be one of the alternatives.
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