The Curatist – Premium Rum Packaging Design

This premium rum packaging design for The Curatist explores how form, material, and storytelling can be unified into a single sculptural object. Designed by Bravo Design, the project moves beyond traditional label-driven approaches, creating a custom ceramic bottle that embodies journey, craft, and origin.

Rather than relying on traditional label design or surface graphics, Bravo Design developed a fully custom ceramic bottle that transforms narrative into form. The result is a distinctive rum packaging design that stands apart in a category dominated by clear glass, establishing a bold and tactile shelf presence.

Concept – A Journey Embedded in Premium Rum Packaging Design

At the core of this design is the idea of journey and return. Inspired by the migratory path of the UK Swift, the structure translates global movement into physical form rather than relying on graphic storytelling alone.

This mirrors the brand’s process: sourcing exceptional rums globally and blending them in the UK. The packaging becomes a direct expression of this movement — global in discovery, grounded in origin.

Custom Ceramic Bottle for Premium Rum Packaging Design

This is realised through a fully custom black ceramic bottle. In a category dominated by glass, the matte ceramic surface absorbs light, creating depth, restraint, and a distinctive shelf presence.

The proportions were carefully engineered to:

• Maximise visibility
• Ensure ergonomic handling
• Deliver a balanced, ultra-premium silhouette

Tactile Form in Premium Rum Packaging Design

The silhouette introduces subtle asymmetry, echoing wind currents and migratory paths. An organic debossed texture wraps the lower body, inspired by global wind maps.

This tactile approach allows the consumer to physically engage with the premium rum packaging, transforming it into a multi-sensory experience.

Materiality in Premium Rum Packaging Design

Material contrast is central to this premium rum packaging design:

• Matte black ceramic for depth
• Metallised copper signet for warmth and identity
• Custom wooden stopper for natural tactility
• Panamanian textile insert referencing origin

Each material contributes to expressing both movement and craft.

Modular System for Future Premium Rum Packaging Design Editions

The closure system was designed to evolve. Textile inserts can change per edition, allowing this packaging design to scale across global releases while maintaining consistency.

Redefining Premium Rum Packaging Design

This project demonstrates how premium packaging design can move beyond decoration into structure. Rather than illustrating migration, the bottle embodies it — resulting in a sculptural, tactile object designed to match the ambition of the spirit it contains.

Project Overview:

At Bravo Design, we thrive on embracing challenges and pushing the boundaries of creativity. When we received an exclusive invitation as one of twenty agencies globally to participate in the prestigious Make a Mark global project—an elite packaging design exhibition annually unveiled in Luxepack Monaco —we knew we had a unique opportunity to create something groundbreaking. Our mission was to conceptualise packaging that seamlessly fused the traditional essence of South African storytelling with cutting-edge modernity. The result was a revolutionary prototype packaging for an Agave spirit, and our journey into uncharted territory began.

This is the story of Karoo Mermaid.

Approach: You can’t hide from AI. It has arrived.

Seeking to create a product authentically rooted in South African culture, we drew inspiration from the folklore of ‘Karoo Mermaids’ to unveil their packaging prototype for a craft Agave spirit, made from the indigenous plants which grow in the semi-arid Karoo landscape.

Here, our research led us to rock art paintings depicting creatures with the upper bodies of humans, and fish-tails, on the walls of caves high in the mountains.  South Africa’s culture is rich with fabled storytelling and myths, but we found the folklore of ‘Karoo Mermaids’ especially intriguing.

We then took the unconventional route of incorporating AI to guide the design’s conceptual journey. We merged centuries-old creative storytelling with modern technology to ultimately display what a product that embodies both futuristic design and the soul of creativity. We harnessed AI tools including ChatGPT and Midjourney, which creates images using prompts, acknowledging that AI, while promising, required expert guidance to achieve desired design outcomes.

AI was more than just a tool; it became an indispensable member of our team, reshaping our perspective on design and innovation. We harnessed its capabilities to explore new dimensions of creativity and to visualize ideas that were previously hard to explain.

Result: An impossibly beautiful design that pushes design into new frontiers

To bring our concept to life, we collaborated with industry leaders and Make a Mark partners ESTAL, Avery Dennison, and Leonhard KURZ. These packaging leaders provided us with cutting-edge materials, pantones, and techniques that became integral to our design. The heart of our creation was a glass bottle, meticulously crafted to echo the grandeur of mermaids. The bottle’s base, mirroring the mythical “pools” of the Karoo, added a stroke of brilliance. Furthermore, we incorporated a colour-changing foil, a prototype engineered exclusively for our project by KURZ. This foil mimicked the mesmerizing interplay of light on mermaid scales, enhancing the overall aesthetic.

Challenges: When the sky is the limit you need to pick your thermals

1. Conceptualisation: One of the primary challenges was deciding on the concept for this open brief project. Additionally, aligning production timelines with design, particularly for the glass bottle, posed a significant challenge.
2. AI Integration: Incorporating AI into the creative process was a learning journey. We experimented with various prompts, discovering AI’s strengths and weaknesses, and continuously improved our approach.
3. Colour-changing foil: Managing the integration of the colour-changing foil was made possible through collaboration with KURZ. This innovative material added a unique dimension to our design, resembling the ever-shifting colours of mermaid scales. This application didn’t exist until we requested it, and KURZ essentially created a prototype foil for us.

New Frontiers: Anything is possible.

• Our project pushed the boundaries of design by combining complexity in printing with the use of innovative materials. We ventured into uncharted territory, merging traditional South African narratives with modern technology and AI. Unlike other creative agencies we didn’t fear AI but embraced it.
• We learned not to fear the unknown and to foster collaboration with top partners for unlocking new ideas and innovations.
• Choosing an authentic story is crucial for brand success. Our story, inspired by ancient rock art and AI, yielded beautiful colours and a compelling narrative.

This is the realm of limitless possibilities – and BRAVO bravely accepted the challenge. This project took eight months to complete, and in the process our team entered a new frontier of graphic design. We embraced artificial intelligence, and in doing so charged towards a new, exciting and limitless future.
There is no hiding anymore. AI has arrived, and we are ready for it.

Materials: When the best in global packaging supplies is at your disposal

Our project’s success was due in large part to our collaboration with leading industry partners:

• Estal Glass: We customised a glass bottle inspired by Estal’s existing designs, giving it a unique tactile quality.
• Leonhard KURZ: They provided a teal foil, silver foil, and a groundbreaking colour-changing foil, creating an exquisite visual and tactile experience.
• Avery Dennison: We used their Fasson cotton white paper, an uncoated paper that showcased the foiling and embossing techniques beautifully.
• Tapi: They contributed to the project by creating a custom glass stopper.
• Vollherbst: Our print partner in Germany helped bring our labels to life with precision nano and micro embossing, ensuring high-quality printing.

 

Read more about the Make a Mark Project.

BRAVO Design ‘enters the unknown’ with unique ceramic bottles to showcase artisanal Cape Saint Blaize gin

Bottling the feelings evoked by a landscape is no small feat – yet this was the brief given to BRAVO Design by Cape Saint Blaize distillery ahead of the launch of their series of gins. Drawing inspiration from the landscape of Mossel Bay and through extensive collaboration, the design process yielded a genuinely unique packaging that speaks to the brand’s values of authenticity and innovation.

The project
Cape Saint Blaize Distillery launched a range of gins – Classic, Floristic and Oceanic – and needed packaging that would stand apart in a highly competitive market while representing the distillery’s home of Mossel Bay.
The distillery captures the spirit of Eden through rare botanical selection and artful distillation. Each bottle is artfully distilled, bottled, and hand labelled as an ode to their home on the Garden Route.
The design team was instructed to take inspiration from the Cape Saint Blaize lighthouse, an icon on Mossel Bay’s coastline since 1864.
The square, white tower lighthouse stands on the cliffs of Saint Blaize, more than 20 metres above a cliff face, overlooking sandy beached and a rugged coastline responsibly for often dangerous and rough seas. The coastline has a rich heritage, with the lighthouse standing above a cave that houses some of South Africa’s first Middle Stone Age archaeological excavations.
Drawing inspiration from the natural landscape gave rise to the idea of a departure from the traditional trade glass bottles used by most distilleries. Instead, it led the design team towards working with natural materials that would create a tactile experience.
“We had to ask ourselves: ‘How do you bring a new gin to a highly competitive category and make it stand out?’,” says Brenden Schwartz, owner and creative director at BRAVO Design.

Solution
With the distillery open to exploring the alternative bottle, BRAVO Design began creating a unique, 360° packaging solution, that would pay homage to the brand’s ethos of creating handmade, artisanal products. The result was nothing short of inspiring, and totally unique to the SA market: a ceramic bottle representing the clean lines of the Cape Saint Blaize lighthouse and rugged coastline cliffs was to take centre stage, and would be offset with a clean design and high-quality labelling that embraced the distillery’s logo and complemented the ceramic. “It was important for the label not to compete, but to complement, the ceramic packaging,” says Schwartz.
It was a novel idea, and the team at BRAVO Design was delighted that the Cape Saint Blaize team was equally excited by the proposed direction: “The commitment and dedication of the Cape Saint Blaize team showed in their willingness to submit to the creative process,” said Schwartz.
“With committed clients, you can achieve anything even when entering the unknown. The unknown is the exiting space we like to work in, and our designers readily embraced the innovative ethos of the brand in creating something to push boundaries.”

Challenges
Creating a handcrafted ceramic bottle presented several challenges, which were taken on by a ceramic workshop alongside the distillery.  The shape and form of the bottle evoke the historical lines of the Cape Saint Blaize lighthouse, but its production was a completely new experience for the design team.
There were many learning curves during the development process, with ceramicists having to account for the fact that the bottles both shrink and straighten as they dry, taking on a different shape to that moulded. The bottles were finally made of porcelain after experimentation with different clays.
“This is the secret to the design’s success. It’s an innovation from the ground up. None of us had ever worked with a ceramic bottle, and it took a collaboration with very skilled people from different fields to execute the design,” says Schwartz.

“In the end we achieved  balance between the bottle, the brand icon and the label. On the surface, or at first glance, the packaging appears, clean and minimalist, exactly like we intended, But while a minimalistic design often looks simple on the finished project, it’s far from easy to achieve,” reveals Schwartz, adding, “the fewer elements you have, the more you have to pay attention to every detail. Just one mistake will show up clearly.”

Result
The result is a beautifully balanced design of handcrafted porcelain bottles and distinctive brand iconography that ensures the brand engages all the senses. On a thick, natural paper, the label embraces the Cape Saint Blaize logo and emphasizes the ceramic design – created in three colours for each gin variant. The attention to detail in the final product is evident throughout – from the ceramic bottle cast on-site at the distillery to the hand-applied label and wooden stopper.
Through collaboration, the team at BRAVO Design  created a piece of art that you can take home. “People fall in love with the brand before they’ve even tasted it because they are drawn to the feeling the bottle evokes when they see it on the shelf. We’ve created a packaging that is both intriguing and beautiful, and that stands out in a highly competitive category,” says Schwartz
Besides drawing the consumer into the brand story, the packaging speaks to the brand’s commitment and dedication to create an artisanal product.
“It’s about moving away from creating just packaging. The Cape Saint Blaize team is offering customers something that few brands do – they offer something truly artisanal, something that’s unique and beautiful. The whole process allows for small batches of gin to be created, ensuring a quality that mass-produced offerings can’t mimic.”

Delivering unique design
“This was a very unique and original project,” says Schwartz. “Despite working with hundreds of brands over the last few years, this project held so many firsts for us and will definitely remain a standout collaboration in years to come. But what really sets the project apart is the Cape Saint Blaize team’s commitment to innovation. They fully embraced the co-creation between client and designer, and it delivered a truly unique product that stands out from its competitors.”

Also featured on The Best Packaging Designs by DesignRush

Axi Lwanda Gin Packaging – a trio of contemporary gins that capture the authentic spirit of Angola.
Our contemporary design takes inspiration from the culture of the local people whose lively hood is closely linked to the ocean and its natural treasures, representing a natural connection between the people and plants.

A unique combination of blind embossing and transparent foil highlights these finer details, while the heart of our AXI design is raised by 3D gold foil emboss.

The AXILwanda distillery is located in Ilha do Cabo, the site of the two family restaurants managed by Manuel Bastos, Quintal da Tia Guida I and Quintal da Tia Guida II. The “AXI”, as the young entrepreneur prefers to call his gin, “is a toast to the Angolan Nation and the African continent, as proof that we can do something,” he said.

Despite being born in Ilha do Cabo, in Luanda, AXILwanda is for the world because it is produced according to international standards. The first element that catches our attention is the branding, but the bottle, designed in detail, is also a show-stealer. In a first phase, 1000 bottles were released in the market, distributed by the company through its own channels. Soon, AXILwanda will also have rosé and lemongrass versions, and its own store and bar, installed in the distillery, where it will be possible to make tastings and guided tours of the production process. In the end, visitors will be able to make their own gin, guaranteed Manuel Bastos.

 

Printing done by VollherbstDruck
More Gin packaging design projects by Bravo Design
Featured in Packaging of the World

The new, iconic Triple 3 Raspberry Blush gin packaging combines subtle and overt design elements to bring the brand’s heritage integrally into the label.

The story of three generations of German master distillers, who used three distinctive and unique Copper Stills named Mrs Mueller, Uncle Konrad and Mr Holstein to produce this premium gin, is brought to life in the high-build varnish.
Pink and silver foils add focal points on the label, including the striking icon, with Vollherbst Etiketten completing the high-quality print on Tintoretto black pepper paper.

El Draque & Rosaria Rum

Unique typography and juxtaposed light on dark/dark on light labels created a dramatic effect on the Hind El Draque Dark Rum and its counterpart Rosario Light Rum.

KWV Fifteen Brandy

KWV Fifteen Brandy new packaging revamp started with relooking the shape of the bottle to make it a more masculine design with additional lines and engravings to suite the regal intrinsic. The new design enjoys a more stately approach with intricate embellishments and gold foiling finishes to compliment the grandeur of the KWV Fifteen Brandy,  also considered the “best brandy in the world”!

Click here more information on KWV Fifteen Brandy.

Inverroche Limestone Rum

Inverroche Limestone Rum is a liquid of the highest quality, and distinctive due to the lime rich waters of Still Bay in the Southern Cape coastline of South Africa. This special ingredient, alongside blackstrap treacle molasses, gives the Inverroche Limestone Rum an inherent minerality and flinty character.

Inverroche was founded by the Scott family, their heritage set the stage for the brand name – Inverroche.  The Scottish word “Inver” meaning ‘a confluence of water’ and the French word “Roche” meaning ‘rock or stone’. These are two of the very elements that have come together to spark.  The packaging design conveys this simple yet elegant approach with the symbolic language derived from the logo showcased in an abstract manner. The packaging has world class finishes including different colour foiling and finished off with a unique limestone enclosure hand made and mined from the Still Bay area.

The labels were printed by Vollherbst Etiketten.

Meranda Gins packaging design is inspired by Meranda – a beautiful, beguiling nymph. She is the custodian of sweet waters and the secrets of the sea. In Africa water is wealth and the source of all life. Always honour her gift by giving silent thanks. Lift your glass to Meranda and wish her good health in exchange for serenity, abundance and prosperity. The packaging design is inspired by African elements and executed in an illustrative Art Deco style complimented with geometric shapes, bold colours and metallic finishes.

Meranda Gins is a unique ensemble of blooms, berries, fruit, nuts and seeds from many places where her spirit dwells. Celebrating the diversity of African Cultures which honour the illusive mermaid. Meranda is made in Africa with African Botanicals.

View more Gins in our portfolio.
Client: Africa Distilled

Client:

KWV

Brief:

Develop a primary and secondary packaging for the KWV 30 Year Brandy.

Bravo Design was tasked to update the existing Wild Africa Cream Liquor Packaging.  In keeping with KWV’s pioneering spirit, the Brand Team has recognised the need to rejuvenate the packaging to more accurately reflect the intrinsic quality. The customized, more elongated bottle shape provides elegant stand out within the category. An embossed leopard accent around the shoulder of the bottle and the brand name at the base adds brand differentiation.

The majestic leopard – a creature that can be found in countless African myths and legends, is the inspiration for Wild Africa Cream. Enjoyed in more than 45 countries around the world for its tantalising blend of fresh cream, distilled spirit and caramel, Wild Africa Cream is made from the finest quality ingredients luxuriously blended to perfection.

KWV 5 YEAR RUGBY INSPIRED GIFT BOX

Bravo developed the concept and executed the design of the secondary packaging.