The Brief:
Raka, a beloved boutique winery nestled in the Klein River Valley, partnered with Just Design to reimagine the full breadth of its premium tier. Spanning both its Flagship Range and broader Premium Range. The goal was to modernise the brand’s packaging while remaining rooted in its distinctive seafaring soul and celebrated Overberg terroir. This comprehensive redesign sought to enhance shelf standout, unify sub-ranges, and preserve the brand’s quietly confident persona, all without losing its characterful charm and winemaking pedigree.

The Challenge:
After more than two decades of success, Raka’s visual language was in need of an evolution. The challenge lay in crafting a visual system that would both differentiate the top-tier flagship wines and elevate the broader premium range, while staying true to the brand’s origin and layered storytelling. The labels needed to convey sophistication and quiet strength, while evoking the natural landscape that inspires the wines. Uniting sub-ranges without sacrificing individuality or expression.

The Design Inspiration:
The design was driven by the tension between quiet strength and poetic storytelling, anchored in Raka’s seafaring legacy and grounded in the land it calls home. Inspiration was drawn from the interplay between earth, sea, and stars, and the brand’s deep connection to origin and legacy. This informed a design language of elegant restraint and evocative detail: refined enough to signal quality, yet expressive enough to hold emotional resonance.

The Design Solution
Flagship Range: Signature of Excellence
Raka’s top-tier wines like Biography, Figurehead, and Quinary,were elevated into a distinct Flagship Range, signalling their position as the pinnacle of the portfolio. The design is deliberately minimalist and luxurious: rich matte labels paired with clean serif typography, a golden seafarer emblem, and a signature from the winemaker himself, printed in varnish – a quiet but powerful mark of craftmanship and care. These cues speak to authenticity, heritage, and understated confidence.

Premium Range: Subtle Storytelling Through Origin
For the broader Premium Range, including wines like Spliced, Rosé, and Sauvignon Blanc, we took a more expressive approach. Decorative shapes on the label were derived from actual Google Earth imagery of the Klein River Valley, transformed into abstract forms that allude to the land, its curves, and its proximity to sea and river. These elements subtly evoke the story of Raka’s location, its creatures, terrain, and coastal climate. The result is a layered, sensory-rich design that reinforces the brand’s narrative while maintaining visual elegance.

Both ranges retain the brand line: “Born of the sea, guided by the stars, blessed by the earth”, a poetic tribute to origin, craft, and quiet ambition.

The Result
Just Design redefined Raka’s premium presence with a system that speaks softly but leaves a lasting impression. The Flagship Range confidently asserts its position as the best of the best, while the Premium Range invites deeper exploration, grounded in place and subtle storytelling. Together, they form a cohesive yet differentiated brand world. Refined, resonant, and proudly rooted in the Overberg. A story made to be shared. A range made to stand apart.