Design is the dance that lives between vision and execution. Strategy and tactics. Macro and micro. We need big ideas, but the best ideas will die if the details aren’t handled with due care. The need for care extends beyond the mere conception and creation of an image. Brand designs and brand images live within a broader context. One with rules and regulations.
It’s the job of the designer to navigate a client through regulatory gauntlets. At the very least, a designer needs to be aware that said gauntlets exist, and refer the client to an appropriate supplier that can be included in the process. And not begrudgingly either. This relationships needs to be collaborative, and ideally, established early on in the project. A brilliant design that is impossible to produce, either technically or legally, may as well not exist.
Libation Law Blog has a great series of posts breaking down some of the TTB’s newer changes to their regulations. Pour a glass of something strong, and have a read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.