Turning the table on Clea Forkert

Clea Forkert, an award-winning creative director, designer and 2025 Design Awards judge, shared with Applied Arts one of her latest and favourite projects. Clea's recently completed the branding for Toronto-based Somewhere wines. A winemaker focused on embracing the unknown.

The Somewhere Wines campaign marked a special milestone for me – it was my first solo freelance project after my maternity leave. After this extended time, it was refreshing to find my own voice again as a designer and manage my own time, goals and expectations. It’s almost like I reconnected with the work again.

It was a quick turnaround, about two weeks. The client had cycled through several designers without finding the right fit. Quick approvals were necessary to meet production deadlines. There was a lot of face time and one-on-one time with the client, which helped expedite the process. She just happened to live two blocks away, so it was great to have that ease of meeting.

What made this project especially joyful was the team I brought on board. I got to work with some of my favourite collaborators — my partner in life, Matthew Boyd, who helped shape and refine the logo mark, and the incredible photographer-stylist duo Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott, who brought the visual story to life. Looking back, I believe the magic of this project was in the alignment—between the client’s vision, my creative instincts, and talented collaborators.

IG: @cleaforkert

Great things happen with great collaborators. Thank you for sharing Clea.