by Paula BenAri | Jul 11, 2017 | Project showcase
Ever sat down in a bar, looked at the back bar shelves and asked yourself, “Who designed those liquor labels?” versus wondering about their taste. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t, unless you are me.
There are so many product label designs that range in different sizes, colors, and shapes. Who can judge which one is better than the other? When it down right comes to design, there is not one single correct answer but many. Regardless if you like a design or not, the most important question is, “Would you remember it?”
With the wide range of products, a label can easily get lost on the shelves. Sometimes taking an approach that’s off the beaten path may help your label stand out and if not be memorable. These designs should be thoughtful and carefully crafted to not steer away from the essence of the product.
Back Bar Project has been working with CreateHive for over six years now. You can see their premium import collection of spirits on all the top shelves in quite a few of the hottest bars across the U.S. Some brands of you may have already seen are Giffard, Sotol Por Siempre, Bigallet, Nuestra Soledad, El Jolgorio, and much more to come.
Artistic Collaboration
The Back Bar Project team keeps us busy designing their collateral – from labels to packages to product sell sheets, as well as advertisements, posters, etc. From time to time they introduce us to local artists from the distilleries regions to collaborate on projects. Such collaborations create unique labels that bring the culture and brand to life. To have local artists collaborating with our design is an honor and privilege. Two brains are better than one, amirite?
One thing you can surely say about Back Bar Project spirit is they look and taste amazing!
by Paula BenAri | Jul 7, 2017 | Project showcase
BISCOTTEA has been with CreateHive for almost 7 years already. These shortbread cookies are sold all over the world and we are proud of being the studio behind their brand.
Updating Your Brand
This year we worked with BISCOTTEA to revamp their brand. Part of the challenge of updating any brand is keeping continuity between the old and new. Having a strong yet minimalist brand is key for an easy transition. In the case of BISCOTTEA all shortbread flavor package designs kept their stripes, yet colors were updated, and new photography (by Sunita Martini) now gives the whole design a new clean look. In addition we are in the process of designing BISCOTTEA’s new website and are excited of the upcoming launch.
Other than seeing them on shelves at Costco, Caribou Coffee, Delta Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airlines, and other big retails, BISCOTTEA is now sold on Amazon. I admit I’m bias but really, you must try their shortbread as they are so yummy!
Here are some photos taken by BISCOTTEA’s team of their latest convention. They shared their booth with other brands, many of which we designed as well. Derek Still, a co-founder of BISCOTTEA is the good looking guy in the photos.
by Paula BenAri | May 31, 2017 | CreateHive's news, Project showcase
Took us long enough but the shelves are finally up, showcasing some of our design work. It is a such great feeling to see the final products on display! As designers it does not get any better than that.
Please don’t forget to send us final print materials of our designs, so we can proudly add it to the shelf rotation!
by Paula BenAri | Jul 3, 2014 | Project showcase
Small confession… this is not a new client of CreateHive, but finally we broke our studio rule of “don’t drink and work” by closing this hectic week with a nice shot of Péche de Vigne by Giffard USA. After more than a year’s worth of designing labels, ads, posters, POS, and what not for this delicious brand, the product is now out in stores. AND! We finally got our hands on it, filling our mini fridge with mini bottles of the entire range, you know… so we can have a better look at the liqueur colors and flavor
Lets just say that we are not disappointed, this week we tried the Péche de Vigne, and thoughts combined (we are people of simple palettes), we found it smooth, fruity, and very yummy. Other than drinking it on its own, seems like it would be a great base for many great cocktails.
Is a great feeling when our clients succeed, is even better when we really like and believe in the product that we design for.
Please don’t miss the opportunity to try this fabulous series!
www.giffardusa.com

by Paula BenAri | Jul 3, 2014 | Project showcase
Such a pleasant surprise to see our designs on the shelves…
SPOTTED: Delicious shortbread cookies in Tazo store on U-Village and Whole Foods Redmond – Biscottea Shortbread Cookies to be exact, a company we are pleased to have as part of the CreateHive family. Besides seeing our designed retail boxes on the shelves, we have tried these nuggets of goodness firsthand, and they are very addictive. Very. These shortbread cookies aren’t typical shortbread cookies, as each flavor is baked with real tea or coffee, making them quite complementary to have with such beverages (or any other beverage really).
For a good rundown of what Biscottea is really about, check them out on Food Network’s Unwrapped:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVEOaaLYE14
If you are a shortbread connoisseur (or just enjoy shortbread cookies in general), next time you see Biscottea or Biscoffee Shortbread cookies in the stores, we would definitely recommend picking up some and trying them yourselves!
http://www.biscottea.net/
Stay tuned for new flavors by Biscottea.
by Paula BenAri | Jun 13, 2014 | Project showcase, Tips
Once in a while we get the chance to be part of a brand that is unassuming and it’s as authentic as it gets. Novo Fogo is an organic cachaça, a Brazilian sugar cane spirit under the rum category. The distillery is located in Morretes, Brazil, on the edge of the rain forest. For the last few years Novo Fogo’s brand has been taking the U.S. by storm, being recognized as one of the best cachaças on the market.
There is no doubt that the quality of the cachaça has a great role in Novo Fogo’s success, but that is not the only reason…
As a design studio, where brands are converted from abstract ideas to real visualization, we keep close in communication with the teams who own or manage the product marketing. The final design is a combined labor of love of our creative work following the client’s focus and direction which is a big part of the brand’s success. So what makes this symbiotic relation with Novo Fogo a success story?
Keep it simple and authentic:
- A well thought out and carefully maintained strategy by Novo Fogo team to keep the brand truthful to its origin.
Many will state this as obvious, but in reality it is a very difficult task. Brand owners often fall into the temptation of overcompensating their brand message, causing their brand to crumble under false pretense and then falls short with the target audience.
Be consistent:
- Novo Fogo is consistently keeping a unified look over the years with a base of a few well selected visual elements that represent the personality of the brand (i.e. burlap texture, earth tones, and raw lines).
While many brand owners mistake being consistent with not being up to date. Keeping consistency over the years is what will make a brand recognizable. The secret is to find the right elements, as few as you can, but with lots of personality. Building a strong yet simple base will allow the brand to expand from there and make every future project feel new yet aligned to the already recognizable brand’s look and feel. A good base will let you go further rather than reinventing yourself each time you have a new project and it won’t confuse your target audience.
More than just looks:
- Novo Fogo’s looks transcends just as smoothly in writing. The style of writing is very approachable and directly levels with the fans.
It is true that one picture is worth a thousand words, yet we can’t escape from textual content. Often looks like the creative thinking went to sleep when the content was written, which ends having a great look along with a dull text nearly exciting as the visual representation. A brand should include well written text that aligns with the overall brand image. There is no excuse for poorly written content!
Sell an experience:
- More and more companies are starting to shift the marketing concept to sell an entire experience rather than focusing on the shelf product only. This approach is more powerful, leaving the target audience mesmerized and connected to the product more than ever. Novo Fogo is the proof that not only giant corporations such as Apple and Coca Cola can make this work, but anyone that has enough determination and a well thought strategy for the long term can as well.
Every week, Novo Fogo puts out an event call, Bars on Fire somewhere in the U.S. These events are fun and gives you just a sip into the Brazilian taste. All events are promoted by the dynamic team of Novo Fogo, taking over bars all over the country to prepare cocktails that fires you up, yet calms the spirit.
I hope all of the above not only gives you the taste for trying this amazing brand, but enriches your mind on how to do it right. See some great examples in our portfolio.