The winner of the wine label design competition hosted by Leopard’s Leap and the Open Book Literary Festival was announced last night, 8 September, at the opening ceremony of the festival, held at The Book Lounge in Cape Town.

Debbie Poswell, a freelance designer from Cape Town was selected from 69 entries for her exceptional interpretation of the brief. “I really liked the idea of combining wine with literature and thought an intelligent, curious leopard with his nose in a book, would be a fun approach. I’ve used a die-cut to illustrate the concept, and to try and keep the label simple, sophisticated and in-line with Leopard’s Leap brand values.”

The three judges, Leopard’s Leap CEO Hein Koegelenberg and acclaimed designers, Joey Hifi and Su Opperman, were impressed by the overall quality and creativity of the entries, but agreed on Poswell’s design as the best representation of both brands and their sentiments.

Hein Koegelenberg: “Leopard’s Leap’s support of the Open Book Festival comes from our passion for literature, but we also enjoy being part of the creative process and this year, with the label competition, creativity was taken to a whole new level! Thank you to all the enthusiastic entrants. I really think the designs were of a wonderful standard. Congratulations to Debbie – you got it just right! We are delighted to use your design as an actual wine label and to supply you with wine for a whole year!”

Joey Hi-Fi: “It was an honour to be invited to be one of the judges in the Leopard’s Leap and Open Book “Design a Wine Label’ competition. When I saw the entries I knew that we as the judges had our work cut out for us! It was a great showcase for the amazing local design and illustration talent we have in South Africa. I was looking for the wine label that best combined the Leopard’s Leap & Open Book Festival identities in an evocative, clever, practical and quirky way. The winning design the judges felt did this the best. We were all thrilled with the outcome!

Su Opperman: “I was amazed by the quality of work and broad range of interpretations. In some instances, labels comprised of the most delightful drawings, but unfortunately did not illustrate the brief optimally, as is the case with the winning design done by Debbie Poswell. I loved the design’s quirky sense of humour, its elegance and sense of mystery. It captured the partnership of Open Book and Leopard’s Leap best, through an act of subtle understatement.”

Poswell wins a cash prize of R20 000, 12 cases of wine labelled with her winning design and passes to the Open Book Festival.

Her design will be displayed at the Open Book Festival, Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards in Franschhoek and will be part of Leopard’s Leap’s digital designs on Facebook and Twitter.

Notes to editor:

For more information on Leopard’s Leap and the exciting offering at Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards, please visit www.leopardsleap.co.za

For more information the Open Book Festival as well as the exciting festival programme, please visit www.openbookfestival.co.za

The 2015 Open Book Festival runs from 9 – 13 September.