Design Process for my Vodka Premix Bottle

Another university project completed and this time two weeks early. We had to create a Vodka premix bottle and label design for ‘Wedgetail Distillery’ using Cinema 4D and the Creative Suite. Here is how I went about doing it.

The scenario we were given (in short)

Wedgetail Distillery, makers of premium vodka produtcts have asked you to design the new bottle and labels for their pre-mixed vodka and citrus drink. It is a mid priced product (about $65 for a case of 24) and they are aiming for the 18 to 35 years market. It must have all the Australian legal requirements (which we had to research). It can have up to 4 colours including special or spots or CMYK if you wish. It must feature an eagle somewhere.

You must complete a 3D render of your bottle in Cinema 4D and the final presentation must be A4 in size and it must be targeted towards the client to sell your design concept.

Design Process

Research

I first redefined the problem then I researched bottle designs by going into my local bottle store and I also borrowed packaging books from the university library. I also researched the legal requirements for Australian packaging and alcohol. Who ever thought I was going to be researching Vodka?

Bottle Design Sketches

This was where we had to design the outline of the bottle. We could have any shape or texture or material we wanted, there were no restrictions.

I kept to the typical glass bottle design as I wanted to make it look realistic as possible however I did add some cool bevelled effects to the bottom of the glass bottle.

You can see to the left the shape of the bottle I designed.

Label Design Sketches & Vectorisation

After I had the bottle design done I could now start on the design of the label. I did a lot of sketches here and then once I had the general idea of how I wanted the design to look I started vectorising my ideas.

You can see the vector outline of my original label to the left and then the final label designs below. The fonts I used were Mesquite Std Medium (for Wedgetail), Adobe Garamond Pro Bold (for Citrus), Edwardian Script ITC Regular (for Premium Vodka).

The colours I used were Pantone 877C (Metallic), Pantone 8404C (Metallic), Pantone 1795 C (Solid Uncoated), Pantone Process Black U.

3D Rendering

After the labels were completed we had to render the 3D bottle in Cinema 4D from our original bottle designs (this was a big learning curve, let me tell you!). After we had rendered the 3D bottle then we had to bring the labels into Cinema 4D and wrap them around the 3D Bottle.

Below you can see a screenshot from Cinema 4D of me doing all of this.

Presentation

After I had completed all the renderings it was time for me to make them presentable. In Photoshop I experimented with different backgrounds and effects to see what was the best. Below you can see just some of the experimentations of different background effects.

I added the lemons into the composition to for scale and to add a bit of contrast to the image and to emphasise the citrus flavour of the vodka premix drink. I created smoke using the clouds filter and then used a light feathering on the clouds and then I added a zoom effect to make it look like a kind of back light coming out of the bottle.

Final Composition

Below is the final A4 composition that I printed out on Semi Gloss photo paper and to be honest it looks so much better in print. What do you guys think?

If you want to check out more of my university work go here.

As an added extra, just because I liked this project so much I did a little mock up of the 6 pack box.

Comments are always appreciated.

How To Customise Your Wordpress 2.5+ Log In Screen

Here is how to customise and brand your Wordpress Log In Screen for Wordpress 2.5+ (and probably many more versions to come). If you are running an older version of Wordpress you may want to check out this post. You may also want to check out the live demo of my log in screen here.

This post comes after updating my Wordpress to version 2.5 and losing my old custom log in screen. Just a word of warning, I am not the best tutorial writer and this tutorial is for an intermediate to advanced user of Wordpress.

Update:

There are also 2 WordPress plug ins available which can customise your Wordpress 2.5 log in screen.

• Wordpress Custom Admin Branding - This changes the log in screen, as well as the logo in the header and footer of your admin panel.
• Branded Wordpress Log In Screen - This is a plugin that brands only the log in screen.

To change the logo from the Wordpress logo to your logo

1. Login to your site via FTP or your preferred method and locate the file ‘login.css‘ which is found in your wp-admin/css/ folder. Open this css file in your favourite editor.
2. In the login.css file look for the line:
   background: url(../images/logo-login.gif) no-repeat;
   and change it to your own image for example… background: url(../images/YOURLOGO.gif) no-repeat;
   NB: You will probably want to make the logo around 290 pixels wide.
3. For the more advanced users this is where you can customise the look of the login anyway you like using CSS which I know you will. I just changed the fonts to Helvetica to match my site.

To change the colour of the background (ie. the baby blue colour)

1. Open the colors-fresh.css file which is also found in your wp-admin/css/ folder.
2. Locate the TWO #eaf3fa colour’s in this file and replace them with any colour you like. I would recommend a light washed out or neutral colour. I chose my site colour which is grey. (#EAEAEA)
3. Don’t stop here, you can customise your log in screen as much as you like! Mine was just a quick example.

Just a note to remember to backup these two CSS files (colors-fresh and login.css) before you do any Wordpress updates as these updates will overwrite these files and you will have to do it all over again!

Once you have finished, upload your login screen to the Wordpress 2.5 Log In Screen Flickr pool.

Why?

This is a a very simple and effective way to customise and brand your wordpress login screen… It would be very beneficial for web designers designing for clients as it’s the attention to detail in your work that makes all the difference when you deal with your clients.

If you have designed a wordpress blog for a client I would highly recommend making this small, yet important, inclusion. For myself, it’s not as important as I am the only one who writes on this blog, however for those with multiple authors it surely is a must.

You also may be wondering about what that OpenID log in is? You should definitely read about it… you will regret it if you don’t.

You may also want to check out WordPress Plugins You Must Have or the Ultimate List of Blog Heading Templates & Titles for Blogging. Also don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already.

If you have any questions (and I am sure you will) please let me know.

My Guest Article on David Airey.com - 5 Vital Tips For Logo Design

I have written a guest article: 5 Vital Tips For Logo Design on the ever so popular graphic design blog owned by David Airey, an aspiring graphic designer and blogger from Edinburgh. Check It Out

Leave comments on here or David’s blog, either way I am happy for some feedback.

Customise Your Wordpress Login Screen

Did you know you can customise your Wordpress login screen? Above you can see my modified version or you can check out the live version here.

You may be looking for the Wordpress 2.5+ version?

This is more important for blogs with multiple authors or blogs designed for clients.

The process is way to easy - You create two images (login-bkg-tile.gif and login-bkg-bottom.gif) and then put them into your wp-admin/images/ folder from your wordpress installation.

For a full tutorial on how to do this visit Asara Myshan or BinaryMoon.
For some inspiration visit this Flickr photo album.

It’s the attention to detail in your work that makes all the difference when you deal with your clients. If you have designed a wordpress blog for a client I would highly recommend making this small, yet important, inclusion. For myself, its not as important as I am the only one who writes on this blog, however for those with multiple authors it surely is a must.

Have you got any login screens you want to share?

Hire Me

Just Creative Design offers graphic design and logo design services of the highest quality and is based from Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

The freelance graphic designer behind Just Creative Design is myself, Jacob Cass, and I offer the highest quality in service, customer support and for the best value for money. Don’t just take my word for it, read some of my client testimonials or check out my portfolio.

If you want a free quote please contact me with details of your project via my contact form below. I will generally reply within 24 hours.

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Freelance Graphic Designer

Below you will find just some of the graphic design services that I offer.

• Logo Design
  • Corporate Branding
  • Corporate Identity
  • Colour Scheming
  • Idea Generation

• Business Stationery
  • Letterheads
  • Business Cards
  • Envelopes
• Printed Material
  • Promotional Material
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  • Wedding Invites
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• Web Design
  • Website Design
• Plus More! Just ask!