Design wise I think the tree illustration is key with this label. It was illustrated by Steven Noble and an actual St. Petersburg tree was used for inspiration, so some [locals] may make the connection.
– Grant Gunderson, Senior Art Director
There’s something in the water in St. Petersburg, Fla. Or in the hooch. Whatever it is, it transforms collaborations between Dunn & Co. and the St. Petersburg Distillery into gorgeous, foil-fabulous bottles like this one for Banyan Reserve Vodka. (Learn the secrets to making your own foil-fabulousness from our webinar – Your Helpful Editor)
“The overall mood and feel of the distillery is 1900s Florida, an authentic representation of the St. Petersburg roots,” says Grant. “And one of the oldest, most recognized aspects of the city would be the flowing Banyan trees, so we really wanted to create something with a great tree illustration.”
Steve Noble’s tree art is highly detailed, certainly, and serves as an excellent – well, there’s no other way to say this – foil for the equally detailed foil work that gilds this bottle so magnificently.
Using an Avery Bright White Felt 70 lb. Text label as their base, Dunn & Co. and Blue Label Digital Printing proceeded to bring this gorgeous vessel to life with a dazzling combination of embossing and foil, foil, foil.
“I think being that we printed on a digital press with 4-color process, we were really able to keep all the copper textures and old paper textures intact, making it feel like it was from another time period,” says Grant. “We also did a combination plate making it so that every section that has foil is also embossed.”
Grant’s favorite touch? “The detail in the copper plate at the bottom, with the whole plate in copper and the St. Petersburg Distillery logo embossed in it.”
Having invested so much time, artistry and expertise in the crafting of these labels, says Grant, “we decided to save on cost and use the same label for 750 ml., 1 liter, as well as 1.75 liter bottles. So it was a bit of a challenge to figure out how those labels could meet in the middle and look just as good on all sizes.”
One of the biggest lessons he learned from the whole experience? “I realized how detailed and precise you can actually get foil to be,” he says. “The plate at the bottom with the logo embossed in it still just blows me away.”
