The Global Vodka Alliance

After two years of running vodka events, producing hard copy publications and category-wide promotion on a global scale, the Global Vodka Alliance approached us with an idea for a website that would be a ‘home for Vodka’. Needing complete branding on top of a brand new website, we started working closely with them to understand the GVA’s targets and what they represent. We designed a modern and versatile brand with quality, elegance, and a futuristic vision at its core, without forgetting the history of vodka.

As with all of our projects, instead of using whatever framework happens to be fashionable at the time, we will always use the most appropriate technology for the functionality we’re developing. One of the main technical challenges was how to manage a directory of over three hundred vodka brands (just to start with) and still make it accessible and easy to navigate for any end user.

We developed a custom system for the GVA Admins to manage the Directory. After a Vodka brand manager registers to the website they can add their products to the directory. These are then reviewed by the GVA before becoming available to the end user. The Directory is the foundation of the GVA, it beautifully displays the Vodkas on a digital shelf. By selecting a bottle, users can see all the details about the product and even some cocktail recipes that have been provided by the brand. The filtering system on top of the Directory is an intuitive way for people to find what they are looking for and is proof that good user experience can be original and creative.

After the technical challenges of the Directory and the management suite, it was time to have some fun. The Educational Portal is the perfect example of how working closely with a client can be much more stimulating and help achieve better results. We developed a modern platform for people to browse and learn about the different aspects of vodka, and in order to get the imagery right, we even organised a little photo shoot in our offices!

Working closely with the Global Vodka Alliance, we managed to craft an innovative, future-proof platform with a beautiful, modern design (and enjoy some vodka while doing so). We also integrated a custom management system with our Builder CMS, allowing editorial management of the website.