The Storyteller Single Malt Irish Whiskey by Tiago Russo and Katia Martins Wins the Platinum A' Design Award in Packaging Design

The Work

Project

The Storyteller Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Function

Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Category

Packaging Design

Discipline

Communication Design

Industry

Packaging & Retail, Branding & Advertising and Manufacturing

Colors

Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Dark Olive Green and Saddle Brown

Images

5

Client

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.

The Recognition

Laureate

Tiago Russo and Katia Martins

Country

Portugal

Recognition

Platinum A' Design Award

Edition

2022 - 2023

Design ID

#149512

Credits

Team

Tiago Russo and Katia Martins

Image Credits

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.

Design Details

Unique Properties

Inspired by heritage, telling the tales of Ireland and Irish Whiskey, The Storyteller is an ultra-rare whiskey that is heavily influenced by a see-through display that fully focuses on the bottle, without further distractions. A 360 degree design that encompasses and merges the details of bottle and box: an interplay of angles that elevate the display and base booklet whilst keeping all other secrets fully hidden, from the glasses to the pipette, all in their respective secret compartments.

Inspiration

More than a collectable, more than pure visionary design, The Storyteller represents an authentic piece of Irish History. Based on our Director's ancestors' tradition of being the country's storytellers, travelling from town to town and delivering the news across the island, this is a meaningful, personal take on a whiskey experience that merges with design to create a moment in History, to create new memories, powerful ones, around a glass of one of the rarest, most sought-after whiskeys ever produced.

Research

The focus of R&D during the creation of The Storyteller was focused on Irish History and literature. As an homage to the Managing Director, Ian Duignan's ancestors' and their trade, The Storyteller is a product that must understand the past, its importance and relevance, whilst looking into the future, with a disruptive approach and new methods of showcasing and highlighting the vessel and the whiskey inside. Due to that, mechanisms, automations and displays were also a core part of the research.

Challenge

The main creative challenge in developing The Storyteller was the combination of different materials and slots that could create an illusion effect for both bottle and booklet. As a very peculiar glass vessel, full of intricate details and finishes, its stand also needed to defy the conventional, by maximizing the way the bottle, closure and detailing are highlighted by the experience box, keeping the interaction a moment of discovery instead of a product that gives away every single feature.

Realization and Technology

The Storyteller's vessel is an interplay of surfaces and geometries where half is fully frosted, and the other half, slightly recessed, is fully clear, revealing the whiskey inside in all its glory. This creates a visual play of slowly revealing the shades of the whiskey and the gold foiled across the bottle whilst viewing it from any angle. The box, on the other hand, present, at first glance, a vertical shape, with all the accessories hidden so that be bottle stays the centre of attention.

Operation and Interaction

Opening from the top in angled hinges, The Storyteller box opens exactly like two books together, making it only possible to remove the bottle from the top, held in a metallic tripod that elevates the vessel, slightly tilted upwards, allowing for a better read of the information embedded into the bottle. Underneath, a combination of optical illusion, LED and perspective reveals just a glimpse of the booklet that tells the story of the whiskey and meaningful moments of Irish whiskey heritage.

Project Duration and Location

Over a year, The Storyteller was designed and envisioned to the finest of details, thought through in order to provide a fully immersive experience between user and bottle. The box was developed to act as a cabinet of curiosities, where History and Mythology merge into secret chambers that reveal the whiskey-tasting accessories and the booklet, hiding in plain sight, waiting for the chosen user to unleash its secrets, yet always focusing on the floating bottle as the core of interaction.

Specifications

The bottle's geometry starts from the irregular angular base, making the bottle an enneahedron that will only be placed on top of a surface on its side, allowing for the correct reading of the written information. Due to this, the bottle can only be held by hand or in the golden tripod inside the box, where, hidden in the lower dark leather casing are four push-to-open drawers, each one towards one axis, and revealing glasses, coasters, stones, pipette, carafe, and of course, the secret booklet.

Keywords

Whiskey, luxury, design, craftsmanship, experience, immersion, packaging, product, exclusive, bottle