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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Tiago Russo Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for The Aodh Irish Whiskey Packaging in Limited Edition and Custom Design

Tiago Russo honored for limited edition and custom design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Limited Edition and Custom Design category for The Aodh Irish Whiskey Packaging by Tiago Russo, designed for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.. The award was conferred within the 2021 - 2022 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.

The Bronze A' Design Award Explained

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

About The Aodh Irish Whiskey Packaging

The Aodh inhabits a world of darkness and glamour, where lights are low and passions soar. Drawing on this mysticism, it tells of a time after dark, its form a mesmerising helix that bewitches and enchants. The Aodh's stand illuminates the bottle from behind, the opal LED trim sending golden beams spinning through the whiskey before dancing off the mirrored surface of the frame. Harnessing the interplay of day and night, the polished golden curved surfaces reflect the light, while the textured and knurled details absorb it, generating a glow that places The Aodh firmly in the spotlight.

About Tiago Russo

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

Tiago Russo is a winner of 4 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2021 - 2022 of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Limited Edition and Custom Design Award

The A' Limited Edition Design Award is an international design competition recognizing best limited edition products by leading brands and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to limited edition designers, custom design professionals, luxury brands and established companies from all countries. Entries typically include limited edition products, bespoke watches, custom furniture, bespoke jewelry, personalized fashion collections and modified automobiles. Awarded limited edition designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/limited-edition

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
The Aodh Irish Whiskey Packaging
Function
Irish Whiskey Packaging
Category
Limited Edition and Custom Design
Discipline
Communication Design
Industry
Luxury and Arts
Colors
Black, Saddle Brown, Dark Khaki, Sienna and Gray
Images
5
Client
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.

The Recognition

Laureate
Tiago Russo
Country
Portugal
Recognition
Bronze A' Design Award
Edition
2021 - 2022
Design ID
#140162

Credits

Team
Katia Martins

Design Details

Unique Properties
A whiskey of near-mythical rarity, The Aodh is an ultra-rare, limited release of just 88 bottles that bring together taste, immersion, technology, and a bottle of futuristic brilliance. A dance of cask, time and skill to craft a whiskey of daring character, presented in a bottle that draws on technological innovation to elevate and astound. Personal and meaningful, The Aodh's bottle is held in an innovative electronic exo-display unit - the ultimate vessel of desirability and mythology.
Inspiration
Derived from the Old Irish for fire, Aodh is the legendary god of the underworld and eldest son of Lir, also holding a place in Irish mythology as a captivating seducer. With the whiskey's rarity adding its own mythological character, The Aodh draws on these legends to tell its story. Just like its namesake, The Aodh demands attention and adulation. Yet this ultra-rare whiskey is destined only ever to be owned by a rare few, with just 88 bottles released of this ultra-rare Irish single malt.
Research
The R&D stages for The Aodh consisted in a combination of efforts in developing, at the same time, an iconic and appealing vessel that would generate the connection with the mythological premise, and at the same time an ultra-futuristic and innovative display, challenging the boundaries of mere packaging and into creating a display unit capable of a fully immersive interaction and storytelling with minimal contact, making the user a viewer into this unique theatre of taste, colour and luxury.
Challenge
The grand conceptual challenge within the creation of The Aodh was truly the augmented immersion through an automated display unit, something that has never been done for this range of products or spirits, and in such a delicate jewellery-like scale. All the mechanisms had to be able to operate heavy solid metal clasps with a delicate flow and minimalist sizing, giving The Aodh its luxurious, delicate appeal and feel, elevating the product as an object of desire.
Realization and Technology
Presented in a dizzying spiral of gold, precious stones and glass, but with an innovative technological design that elevates it beyond the everyday, The Aodh is desired by all who look at it. The Exo-skeleton display is based on a winged chassis that locks the bottle in place, opened by a subtle touch sensor on the brass base and self-illuminated by several halo LED profiles and mirrored surfaces, coming together in a fluid graceful series of movements.
Operation and Interaction
The usage of The Aodh as a statement product is based on a fully immersive and performative experience. A touch sensor is the only direct interaction from the user, as it will then turn the LED rings on, and gradually open the clasps electronically, unleashing the exquisite luxurious vessel held inside. The obsidian closure also contains a hidden compartment inside, where the user can store a small gift/piece of jewellery, giving a more personal and intimate touch to the entire experience.
Project Duration and Location
Designed around July 2021, the Aodh was under technical development for around 6 months in order to perfect the entire touch sensor system and electronic arms movement. Only after it was fully perfected, the 88 units have been under finishing touches and handmade detailing in order to bring the ultimate design to life this Spring 2022, with each unit being handcrafted and finished throughout 2022.
Specifications
Exo-Display: 230W x 200D x 300H Bottle and Exo-Display share a similar concept: organic shaping with gold/amethyst detailing. Whilst the bottle received a delicate golden band with incrusted amethyst stones, culminating in a pocketed brass and obsidian closure, the display unit has the main structure with grooved and knurled golden details, where the arms receive the amethyst finished detailing. Mirror and LED in the main frame add further depth and sensorial richness to the entire experience.
Keywords
Whiskey, Whisky, Luxury, Packaging, Display, Bottle, Design, Collection, Product

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