Comparing packaging design with artworks needs to take account of one hugely important factor. Most packaging isn’t a canvas but sculpture: A three-dimensional art form with attendant visual, tactile and other sensory properties. Even the humble box or sachet can surprise and delight through form, material and proportion before any graphics are applied.
In the world of premium products elaborate forms, expensive materials and complex print techniques work together to create symbols of power and status. With few distinguishing features of the product itself, premium vodka is all about the bottle and the story that it tells. Power comes in several forms it seems, from Stolichnaya’s ‘Elit’ ebony and glass tower to mastery over death (or owning your enemies) suggested by Crystal Head. And standing out like a big, swinging Mammoth’s tusk, Siberia’s Mamont brand certainly makes a statement about something. Definitely not to be drunk from the bottle.