Smooth Shine

Services: Hand-lettering
Illustration & Design: Aaron Johnson
Creative Direction: Joel Anderson

The Project

Clarksville, TN is home to Old Glory Distilling Co., a relatively new distillery with an All-American theme. The owner reached out to us when he was making plans to launch the company. He wanted us to illustrate and design label art that would pay homage to the 101st Airborne Division stationed nearby at Fort Campbell.

The Challenge

Great packaging design should grab the customer’s attention as they walk through a store. It also needs to stand out from all the other products around it. The category of distilled spirits is a particularly crowded field. How could we create a packaging vibe that was truly unique—unlike anything already on the shelf?

The Solution

We created a brand identity that featured an American eagle and the Tri-Star emblem from the TN state flag. We also added a label to the backside of the bottle with an American flag motif that would be magnified by the liquid inside and serve as a patriotic backdrop to the front label. In keeping with the backwoods history of Moonshine, we hand-rendered the type in an earthy, whimsical style with a Southern flair.

Concepts

We generally try out several different variations of each label design before settling on a finalist. Note the different treatments of the letter S and the various ways we incorporated the moon into the design.