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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Tiago Russo and Katia Martins Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Le Chateau XO Luxury Cognac in Packaging Design

Tiago Russo and Katia Martins acknowledged for packaging design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Packaging Design category for Le Chateau XO Luxury Cognac by Tiago Russo and Katia Martins, designed for Le Portier. The recognition forms part of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

About the Silver A' Design Award

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Regarding Le Chateau XO Luxury Cognac

Le Chateau XO is packaging for a cognac. The glass bottle has sharp geometric lines and a flattened profile that supports a firm grip. The base helps balance the bottle during pouring. The neck is finished with a gold metallic profile, engraved and knurled for texture, and topped by a dark closure with metal trims. The presentation box is clad in printed, embossed and foiled suede, with a light cream interior, a gold trim and dark wood grain outside. A booklet is held inside the box. The design aims to give the cognac a clear and elevated presence.

About Tiago Russo and Katia Martins

Tiago Russo is the Chief Design Officer at The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., a premium & luxury Irish spirits brand that aims to elevate and return to Ireland its former glory and reputation as home of the best whiskies in the world. Building an empire with a global mind-set and Irish heart. Over the last decade Russo has designed for some of the most respectable brands in the world. His impressive portfolio spans the luxury lifestyle domain from spirits to cosmetics, automotive to timepieces including: The Macallan, Dewar’s, The Dalmore, Craigellachie, Bacardi, Louis Vuitton, Patek Philippe, Coty Inc. and McLaren, to name a few.

Award Record

This recognition makes Tiago Russo and Katia Martins a winner of 15 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2023 - 2024 of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Packaging Design Award

The A' Packaging Design Award is an international packaging competition that recognizes outstanding packaging designs by talented packaging designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to packaging designers, graphic designers, branding agencies and product manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include bottles, boxes, cans, pouches, tubes and cartons. Awarded packaging designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/packaging

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project
Le Chateau XO Luxury Cognac
Function
Luxury Cognac
Category
Packaging Design
Discipline
Communication Design
Industry
Packaging & Retail, Branding & Advertising and Manufacturing
Colors
Saddle Brown, Indian Red, Rosy Brown, Sienna and Tan
Images
5
Client
Le Portier

The Recognition

Laureate
Tiago Russo and Katia Martins
Country
Portugal
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2023 - 2024
Design ID
#160085

Credits

Team
Tiago Russo and Katia Martins
Image Credits
Le Portier Cognac

Design Details

Unique Properties
An evolution of the brand's portfolio, Le Chateau XO brings a more premium, striking and luxurious approach to Le Portier Cognac. The bottle's harsh geometric lines associated with a flattened profile allows for an optimal grip, with the bottle's base assisting in the gravity balance for pouring. The packaging further enhances the senses, with a soft suede texture cladding bottle and booklet, separated by a finely crafted gold trim from the rich wood shades that pay tribute to the cognac casks.
Inspiration
The second launch for Le Portier Cognac, Le Chateau XO follows the success and heritage of the entry-level Shay VSOP cognac. Tailored to a more premium market, with a more aged spirit, the brand's second iteration focuses on a less organic approach than its predecessor. Sharpened curves and a straightened base with a thicker ice allow for a bolder, striking presence of the bottle alone, where the experience box combines cream suede and fine gold detailing with a reach dark tinted oak outside.
Research
With a direct focus on the history of Shannon Sharpe and Mary Porter that is a reflection of the brand heritage, Le Chateau XO aims to intense visual assets, to the delicate luxurious elegance that highlights the product's shaping, the cognac itself, and becomes, on its own, a striking presence across any shelf. A stand-out design, in a bottle that brings attention to itself whilst highlighting the natural colours of the cognac, elevating the experience throughout box and vessel altogether.
Challenge
The XO cognac product language is one of elegance and elevation. Across the market, it is often seen utterly different approaches, but usually with the tendency to attach an organic shaping towards this type of product and vessel. For Le Chateau XO, design process focused on a completely different language, disruptive, luxurious, yet approachable. Clean, strikingly linear aesthetics are balanced with elongated curvatures and thick glass, providing the ultimate presence to this product.
Realization and Technology
Le Chateau XO's bottle neck receives a gold metallic profile all the way around, engraved and knurled to bring additional texture and grip to the elongated neck. Above, a dark obsidian closure with metal trims top the luxurious feel of the bottle, with the harsh, cold materials contrasting with the cognac's natural colour and the softness of the box interiors. Printed, embossed and foiled suede bring an immersive, highly sensorial texture to the box, culminating in the deep wood grain outside.
Operation and Interaction
Open the box through the side clasp, whilst contemplating the dark satin wood tones and gold detailing. Inside, the dark tones are contrasted by a light cream suede wrapping the whole interior of the box. On the left side, educational information is foiled onto the fabric, with a booklet allocated in the same finish. On the right, a low opacity pattern is applied to the inlay where the bottle sits, creating further depth and intensity to the reflections across the glass vessel and metallic trim.
Project Duration and Location
As a direct successor of Shay VSOP, Le Chateau XO design process came naturally in the following months that followed the arrival of the VSOP version onto the market and its immediate nationwide success. The bottle, completely reinvented and the gold details on both vessel and packaging, such as the profiles that lead to the clasp or the medallion on the back, have been perfected over time to ensure the ultimate luxurious finish that combines excellence, boldness and elegance to this product.
Specifications
Knurls, grooves, embossing and engraving define the intricacies of Le Chateau XO. With clean aesthetics, without organic ornament, the glass vessel focuses on minimalist artwork, where textures add an additional layer of intensity to the touch, which is enhanced and translated into the box itself. Embossed and engraved layers add an additional complexity do the suede, with a metal trim shadow gap generating the additional depth to the outer box, Le Chateau XO is an immersive sensorial journey.
Keywords
Cognac, luxury, design, craftsmanship, Shannon, experience, immersion, packaging, product, exclusive

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