Top Source · Logo Design · Wine Labels · Washington State
Top Source — Wine Label & Logo Design for Washington State Wines
Logo and wine label design for Top Source, establishing a shared visual identity for a Walla Walla Valley Syrah and Columbia Valley Red Wine through custom lettering, illustration and restrained graphic detail.
The two labels belong unmistakably to the same range while retaining distinct personalities — a design system that could later be extended to additional Top Source wines.
The Assignment
A drawn identity for two distinct Washington wines
For Top Source, I created the logo and wine label designs for two Washington State wines: a Walla Walla Valley Syrah and a Columbia Valley Red Wine.
The brief allowed a welcome degree of creative freedom, with a clear request to bring my own drawn line into the identity rather than polish away the individual character of the work.
The result was a pair of labels sharing the same visual language without becoming copies of one another. That distinction became an important part of the Top Source identity as the wine range developed.
Project Scope
Logo, lettering, illustration & label design
- Top Source logo design
- Walla Walla Valley Syrah label design
- Columbia Valley Red Wine label design
- Custom hand-drawn lettering
- Illustrative graphic elements
- Label artwork development for print application
- Shared visual system with individual identities for each wine
Visual Direction
Letting the place names carry the design
Rather than relying on ornate heritage cues or familiar vineyard imagery, I worked with hand-drawn forms, open white space and a limited number of graphic details. The labels needed to read clearly on the bottle while retaining enough individual character to be remembered.
For the Walla Walla Valley Syrah, the repeated rhythm of the place name became the natural starting point. I treated the lettering almost musically, allowing the words themselves to provide much of the movement. A small sun-like emblem and warm red-orange accents provide a counterpoint without crowding the composition.
The Columbia Valley Red Wine moves differently. Its lettering is broader and more fluid, accompanied by a blue horizontal accent and compact illustrative mark. The tone is cooler and calmer while remaining recognizably part of the same Top Source family.
Design System
Wine label design with room to breathe
Both labels use a compact black Top Source header, a large central lettering treatment and a small number of illustrative details. The compositions are deliberately light, allowing typography, drawing and white space to do the work rather than adding ornament for its own sake.
This project sits within my broader work in graphic design and creative direction, where illustration, typography and identity systems often need to function together across packaging and product ranges.
The drawn elements also connect the project to my work in commissioned illustration. Here, illustration is not separate decoration added to the packaging; it is part of the identity itself.
Extending the Range
From two labels to a broader Top Source family
The visual language established for the Syrah and Columbia Valley Red Wine later provided the foundation for a third Top Source label: Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc.
For the white wine, I retained the flowing Columbia lettering and recognizable Top Source structure while introducing a hand-painted yellow sun and brighter color relationship appropriate to the new wine. The result extends the family without simply repeating an existing label.
Project Details
- Client: Top Source
- Wines: Walla Walla Valley Syrah · Columbia Valley Red Wine
- Region: Washington State, USA
- Creative direction, logo & wine label design: Ian David Marsden
Related design & illustration work
Top Source Sauvignon Blanc · Graphic Design & Creative Direction · Commissioned Illustration · Roc de Couder Wine Label · Domaine Les Tuileries · Case Studies
Looking for a distinctive identity for a product or brand?
I work across graphic design, identity, packaging and commissioned illustration, combining typography and drawn elements where the project calls for a more individual visual language.
