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Lawrence Getubig

Creative Technologist in Product Design

45th Parallel Wines

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Role

  • Illustrator
  • Brand Designer
  • Web Designer
Flat design stick figure illustration of a man and woman in front of their store in St Johns
Above: Visual asset designed in flat-design illustration to reflect the brand of 45th Parallel Wines.

Challenge: Designing Personality for a Digital Storefront

The original website was a hodgepodge of branding materials without cohesion. As a new store, 45th Parallel Wines had no digital guidelines or personality to distinguish it from other Portland wine shops. The site lacked core features:

  • No social media connection, such as an Instagram feed to generate awareness.
  • No clear call‑out for the curated wine delivery program.
  • A refined and updated “About” page to establish identity in the St. John’s neighborhood.
  • No events page to showcase community programming (local art exhibitions, weekly live music).

The store needed a digital presence that communicated it was more than a wine shop — it was a community hub.

screenshots of moodboard pages

Analysis and Insights

Through client conversations and moodboards, I identified that the brand’s strength lay in its local geography and community programming. The absence of a cohesive identity meant the store’s unique role as a cultural hub wasn’t visible online. My insight: the digital storefront needed to root itself in St. John’s landmarks and community rituals to differentiate from competitors and resonate with locals.

Stick figure examples of illustrations of 45th Parallel Wine brand.
Above: Visual assets designed in flat-design illustration to reflect the brand of 45th Parallel Wines. Note neighborhood icons like the movie theater, the bridge, the waterfront and that Portland, cleansing rain.

Solution

  • Brand System: Developed a logo, typography, and color palette to give the store a distinctive personality.
  • Custom Illustrations: Created flat‑design illustrations referencing St. John’s bridge and streetscapes, embedding a sense of place.
  • Responsive Design: Built layouts optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
  • Community Features: Added Instagram integration, curated delivery program call‑outs, About page, and Events page highlighting art shows and live music.
  • Scalable Assets: Designed an extensible illustration system (thin‑line, geometric stick‑figure style) adaptable to banners, social media, packaging, and signage.
  • Technical Tailoring: Applied CSS tweaks to ensure the Shopify template felt bespoke rather than generic.
Responisve design example of laptop view
Above & Below: Responsive design examples—laptop and mobile view.
Responisve design example of mobile view
illustration of brand in stick figure style, showing a man and woman in front of the store with St. John's bridge and Mt. Hood
examples of illustration of brand in stick figure style showing cheese and wine and menu flyer

Impact

  • Established a cohesive digital identity that differentiated 45th Parallel Wines from other Portland wine shops.
  • Elevated the website as another digital marketing tool for the store’s role as a community hub, showcasing events and local art alongside wine offerings.
  • Increased brand awareness through Instagram integration and storytelling rooted in geography.
  • Delivered a scalable design system that continues to support growth across digital and physical touchpoints.

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