Cal Poly Capstone Packaging Design Project

Most wineries shut down summer shipping. Not because they want to but because they have to. High temperatures in transit can ruin wine before it ever reaches a customer’s doorstep. My team and I set out to solve that.

In collaboration with Kelsey See Winery, we were challenged to design a sustainable wine e-commerce solution that could safely ship bottles across the country, even in the hottest months. The packaging had to meet rigorous ASTM and ISTA shipping standards, be made from recycled materials, and include temperature-controlling insulation. But just as importantly, it had to represent the brand through thoughtful marketing, storytelling, and design.

For 10 weeks, we followed a full design thinking process: ideation, prototyping, testing, and refinement. It was my first time applying this approach end-to-end, and it became a crash course in problem solving, teamwork, and designing for both function and feeling.

The result was a fully tested, brand-forward solution that let Kelsey See ship their wine safely from California to any address in the U.S., no matter the weather. What started as a shipping challenge turned into something more: a reimagining of how sustainability, performance, and storytelling can coexist in a box.