Raise a glass to Pride! Hotel Tango Distillery, a veteran-owned, artisan distillery based in Indianapolis, Indiana, celebrates June and Pride Month every year by teaming up with an artist to create celebratory labels for their line of spirits. For 2023, Brazilian artist Jun Ioneda, under Young & Laramore, won the honor, and the label he created honored the LGBTQIA+ community with vibrant, joyful artwork. Inspired by queer nightlife, the design featured colorful, playful details and bold, expressive characters such as figures sitting in giant glasses and a tiger, Jun’s personal trademark. As a gay man himself, this was an incredibly meaningful project to Jun, and the final product is a celebration of queer resilience, identity, and the right to live joyfully and authentically.

By: Jun Ioneda, Freelance Graphic Artist

Every year, Hotel Tango Distillery teams up with an artist to give their vodka packaging a fresh look for Pride Month—and in 2023, I was lucky enough to be that artist. As a gay man, this wasn’t just another design job. It was a chance to pour something personal into the work—to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community in a way that felt real and meaningful to me.

I wanted the artwork to feel like a burst of joy. Bright colors, expressive characters, and playful details all came together in a piece that was loud, proud, and full of life. I drew the characters inspired by the people I see and admire in queer nightlife—bold, unique, and full of presence. I wanted everyone to be able to see themselves in this celebration, to feel seen and included in the joy.

One recurring symbol in my work, the tiger, also makes an appearance here. I often use it as a defiant figure—strong, fearless, and unapologetic. In this piece, I paired it with a bow to create a contrast of energies that’s very real in our world but often ignored or flattened by straight culture. That tension between soft and fierce is something I see constantly in queer spaces, and I wanted it reflected in the artwork.

And sure, I know it’s just a vodka bottle—but even small things like this can carry meaning. It’s not trying to change everything, but it adds a bit of light to an otherwise dark future. This project is a tribute not only to the battles we’ve fought but to the lives we’re determined to live—fully, joyfully, and on our own terms.

Jun Ioneda is a graphic artist from São Paulo, Brazil. His work is influenced by science fiction, queer life, fantasy, and Japanese culture. With bold colors, his pieces play with contrasting ideas like whimsy and sophistication, playfulness and introspection, and colorfulness and melancholy. He has led illustration projects both as a solo multidisciplinary artist and as the head of his own illustration studio, BARCA. Not long after the pandemic, Jun started to work on his own style, besides his commercial work, and nowadays splits his time between his art, his studio, and teaching at Aprender.Design and LABASAD.

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