An entirely different project brings about unique challenges and quality collaboration.
We've been making dental websites for a decade, and one thing we believe more and more is that your unique story, with its twists and turns, can be the catalyst for something incredibly cool, creative, and unexpected. Which is why, when Drs. Kristine Aadland and Justin Moody approached us to make a website for their winery instead of their dental practices, the only answer was yes.
Dr. Moody had been searching for a marketing company to bring the story of their vineyard to life. As a fifth-generation farmer, the story of the land, the grapes, and all the passion that gets poured into each bottle was just as much a part of his heart and soul as his dental practice. After going over many proposals from agencies specialized in food and beverages, nothing had made an impression. Then he saw a video we made recapping The Making Of Retreat, with scenes of Napa Valley washed in golden hour sunlight, and he remembered that our CEO is a level 3 sommelier. He thought, “This could work.”
We more than agreed.
With this project we wanted to prove a point that if you start with strong branding and design, we can deliver your full vision. My thought was, if we can utilize our process that was built for dental practices and it works for a winery website, who's to say we couldn’t do the same thing in any industry?
Josh Brown, senior Account Manager
phase 01
phase 02
phase 03
phase 04
D r. Moody and Dr. Aadland trusted us to design their logo because they’d seen our work on dental brands. We were confident in our design team’s abilities, but doing work in an entirely different industry meant we had to think differently. The logo had to be dynamic and flexible enough to stand out on wine labels, barrels, and other merchandise. These types of considerations challenged our entire design team, and ultimately, one of Brandon’s designs was selected because it told their story the best.
This concept highlights the region the winery is located. The shape is an outline of the Spring Mountain area of Napa. I felt this nod to the land would resonate with them being 5th generation farmers and also play up the exclusivity and history that is associated with Napa Valley. The dot of the “i” pin-points the location of the vineyard.
Brandon Martin, Designer
Brandon became not only the designer of the brand, but an integral part in determining the direction of the website in pre-production. His vision and Josh’s communication with the client allowed our production team to execute something seamless – photos and video that fit perfectly with the brand and website design.
The team began the website process by coordinating a pre-production creative call, which set the tone for collaboration that would exist throughout the project. After getting to know the client’s preferences, Josh (their Account Manager) knew which team members he wanted to pull into the project: Tyler, lover of documentary-style filmmaking; Jake, the photographer whose edgier style fit the brand best; and Drew, our videographer who masters capturing emotion. Meanwhile, Josh was in charge of knowing the clients’ priorities, understanding their style, and even knowing when grape season peaked so the vines would be ready for their closeup.
To tell the story of the wine from beginning to end, they decided to interview the winemakers and laborers who tended the vineyard, not only owners Drs. Moody and Aadland. They also made a few unique design choices for the website, like multiple hero loops and black-and-white photography. Lastly, they knew that an on-site production session wouldn’t fulfill the entire vision. They would need to get into the studio with some bottles and do a product shoot to truly make something we hadn’t done before.
I loved collaborating with Brandon to develop the visual style before shooting. The silhouette set that became such a big part of the website was born well before we even booked travel for the session.
This content session proved that snapping cool photos and footage of the tech, office, and patients isn’t everything. It cemented the idea that people love personal stories. I mean, who wouldn’t want to choose doctors who are so deeply involved in their community?! They aimed to create fun videos that revealed more than just their professional side, but their personal interests.
Jake Olson, photographer
Pre-production is key. Having a style curated by Brandon and making shot lists with Jake and Tyler allowed us to walk into the session knowing what we needed, which ended up giving us time to play. It also made small hiccups easy to overcome. My biggest take away from this experience: time spent on the front end of production helps us understand who the client is, what our mission is, and how we’re going to successfully build an out-of-the-box experience for the client.
Drew Hawley, videographer
In September, when the grapes were ready to harvest, the team journeyed to Spring Mountain with a plan. Besides being blown away by the beauty of the vineyard and the stories that were shared, they loved every challenge this project threw their way.
Being on-site at the vineyard was a great opportunity to do some documentary-style field shooting and inspired a lot more run-and-gun compositions that our team executed on the spot. I’m really proud of the work we did. From hiking up the hillsides with 100lbs of gear for an interview shot overlooking Napa Valley to hooking up our lighting kit to the 4Runner, the whole production was really creative and the final product is better for it.
Tyler Keller, Videographer
Being out in Napa, experiencing the culture of wine country, watching our team be so collaborative and intentional when it came to our deliverables… it's amazing to watch and be a part of. When we do projects like these, it just reminds me of how far we've come.
Josh Brown, senior Account Manager
I think it was really fun to push our boundaries within the photo space. Studio product work is about as different from dental content as you can get, and it's great to know that we can knock both out of the park.
Jake Olson, photographer
This was the first real product shoot that the video team took on, and it led to some amazingly creative concepts and ideas being pulled off in the studio. Typically video productions are done solo, so being able to collaborate with the everyone was a great experience.
Tyler Keller, Videographer
In the meantime, Josh met with the design and development teams to discuss the flow and layout of the website. The photography and videos lent incredible visual support to Brandon’s original concepts, and it became Juan’s job to turn it all into an actual website with high-level development.
My favorite part about this project was crossing the finish line. It was such a bittersweet moment when we launched the website, but when I look back and see everything that was accomplished it’s reassuring to know that the processes we have in place can be replicated anywhere.
Josh Brown, senior Account Manager
The team couldn’t have been more proud to deliver this website to Dr. Moody and Dr. Aadland. From concept to execution, we knew we had nailed it and that the team’s guidance had led the client to something they were thrilled with. The website has a bold brand standpoint that tells the story of a beautiful product that puts smiles on people’s faces.
From the very beginning, this project presented exciting new challenges and opportunities for out-of-the-box deliverables. With those challenges came more team collaboration than we see on most projects, for example, the Titanium brand taking a leading role in photography choices.
A big highlight was the studio session where the photo/video team got to creatively capture the product. Everyone who worked on this project got to do something a little differently, and they are so proud of the results.
Our experience with Studio Eighty Eight was amazing. The website is unlike anything we've ever seen. They captured exactly who we are; we're all about authenticity. The branding, photography, videography, and website communicate that which is why we couldn't be happier with what they delivered!
Dr. Moody and Dr. Aadland
Contact • About • Articles • Jobs • Join Our Mailing List
We’re looking forward to hearing about your project. Please tell us which of the following best describes your practice:
No sweat. Drop us an email instead.