From Florida with Love!

At the end of last month I received an order for liqueur labels from the USA. Actually, it was my first international order -- I had done some labels for export before, but only for local customers. The order was placed by a small manufacturer from Florida. It was a series of three different flavored liqueurs called Limonzala -- Lemon, Lime and Orange. The shape of the bottle suggested two separate labels: the primary and the secondary. After we agreed on prices and I received the basic concept, a blueprint of the bottle and a photo of the actual product, I set to work.

The order didn't fit in my usual understanding of liqueur labels, so I had to improvise. The thing is, the liqueurs here in Georgia are mostly based on sweet fruits, almonds, coffee, chocolate, etc. -- but never on citruses. Also, they are mild, considered to be a "ladies' drink," with no more than 25% alcohol by volume. Consequently, the liqueur labels I usually make are somewhat "feminine," with floral ornaments, pretty vignettes and so on.

Limonzala Liqueurs are in fact citrus vodkas, with 40% alcohol, so the choice of style was obvious -- no heavy decorations, ornate elements or dark colors, but everything light, bright and "vodkish." As for the fruits, photo-realistic ones wouldn't do here, so I locked myself up in the FruitLab and bred the new sorts of "digitally hand-made" citruses, exclusively for U.S. export.

I finished the labels in a week or so. As a finishing stroke, I added some Florida sun, palms and a girl on a beach chair, and sent the demo version to the client, along with an actual product prototype, as I call them (you can see it on the right).

I liked the results myself, but even so I didn't expect the reaction to be so rapturous: the client was so happy that he doubled the payment! The labels were approved without a single change, except minor edits in the back label text.

Last week I safely received my payment and sent the final version in Adobe Illustrator format, as requested by the client. The labels are ready for printing, but we still have to wait for the U.S. Government approval. My work is done, and I'm looking forward to the long-term business relationship with this new-found partner from Florida.