Red 8 Rum for Steam Devil Spirits

Creative Agency: Hired Guns Creative
Photography: Sean Fenzl
Printer: MCC
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: Steam Devil Spirits
Location: Nanaimo, Canada
Packaging Contents: Rum
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass / Paper
Printing Process: Offset

For Steam Devil Spirits, a new distillery on the shores of Lake Michigan in Traverse City, we designed a label that showcases the local landmark “Red 8” buoy – not just the namesake of this silver rum, but the location around which wild yeast was collected from the air and used in the rum’s fermentation process.

From a distance, the number ‘8’ jumps off the label with its bold graphic treatment, vibrant red-on-blue palette, and a scalloped dieline whose top and bottom edges are broken by the oversized figure. Coming in closer, our attention is drawn to another red echo: the buoy afloat on the vast blue lake, its meticulously rendered linework contrasting with the sleek ‘8’.

The scene evokes the beautiful and eerie atmosphere surrounding one of the Great Lakes’ infamous steam devils. Accents of silver foil and subtle embossing combine with the design’s fine detailing to create a luxurious tactile finish.