It’s not every day a client of mine hits the headlines, but this happened to Lehman Brothers whiskey, who had approached me to design their bottles.

I’m always up for a challenge, and had a stab at something just to get the ball rolling.

OK, it was nothing exciting, but the client had asked for something quiet and understated, and had provided the layout for the label.

The customer, of course, is always right, but in my usual forthright manner I told them that the whole thing looked really boring.

“You need to bold,” I said. “Wild. Shouty. And classy. All at the same time.”

After these deep and ponderous words, I held my breath until the client said cautiously: “Let me see what you have in mind.”

Thus was born a range of whisky bottles that are already gathering their own legend.

Ashes of Disaster

Evergreen

Snapfire