Mr. Noir and Miss Grigio

These illustrations are done by Harry Slaghekke at MASH Design Agency and are made for the Marauding Vitners’ 2-buck chuck line of wines. I came across this label when I was researching wine labels for a side project this week. I think what drew me to it was how abnormal it was for wine packaging to have realistic drawings (or paintings) of people on them. Also, it is done in grayscale, and has a plain white background. No earthy (AKA cliché) elements are shown besides the suitcases filled with grapes. They look like they are done with India ink and originally on watercolor paper. I love that they are in black and white because it is indicative of the Film Noir style and the figures definitely fit that time frame as well.
I definitely think this is a successful package design because it is witty. Who would think to put two and two together concerning the double entendre with the word “noir” in pinot noir? It seems like such an obvious solution but I probably would have never thought of it. The designers then took it to the next step and created these characters, Mr. Noir and his female counterpart Miss Grigio, and they look like they fit perfectly with the wine. The white wine is the woman, which makes sense because it is lighter and more elegant (in my mind). Mr. Noir is for the red wine and works because the character looks beefy and manly. These characters would definitely drink the wine that they are representing. I don’t know. I just like it.