ABSOLUT

“This is one of the most dramatic changes we’ve ever made, and our biggest and most transforma- tive design project ever. Our goal was to give our customers distinctive designs that are unlike anything one has ever seen. Vibrant, captivating bottles that bring energy to any occasion and celebrate the fact that every flavour in the ABSOLUT VODKA range is something extraordinary,” says Anna Kamjou, Global Design Director at ABSOLUT. “The standard

thinking says a fruit-flavoured vodka requires fruit imagery. We wanted to break that convention. We asked our design team to reach into the symbolism and myths tied to the ingredients to find each flavour’s core essence — and then amplify that essence through art.”

“Bringing an artistic approach to the redesign of its flavour range makes sense for a company with deep roots in the art world. Since 1985, when the ABSOLUT VODKA bottle appeared in the first art ad, ABSOLUT has been making art part of its consumers’ experience. “ABSOLUT has long challenged conventions through creativity,” says Kamjou. “This across-the-board redesign is another example of the brand’s originality and boldness.”

“After interpreting each flavour’s essence, the designers worked to elevate these impressions artistically into some- thing premium, contemporary and progressive. With ABSOLUT APEACH, for example, soft pastels and a light, hand-drawn gesture were used to capture the fruit’s evanescent, sweet fragility and convey a sense of romance. The design for ABSOLUT PEARS started with the fruit’s symbolic association with longevity and purity, and arrived at an abstract pear shape resembling the symbol for eternity. For ABSOLUT RASPBERRI, the emotion of love and passion is intensified through the abstract expressionist technique of throwing paint. The same artistic process was repeated across the range.”

“We brought a ‘by-hand’ aesthetic to the project,” says Mattias Lindstedt, lead designer from design agency The Brand Union. “And by that I mean we stepped away from our computers, grabbed paper, pens and brushes, and – following the long tradition of Swedish design and craftsmanship – set out to communicate not a flavour per se, but the core essence behind each flavour. And to do so in a quintessential ABSOLUT way, under one harmonising idea.”

“This is an exciting time for ABSOLUT,” says Jonas Tåhlin, VP Global Marketing at The Absolut Company. “While most flavoured vodkas look more or less the same, we are bringing a full range of innovative designs to market. Artistic, modern and unlike anything else around, we believe they will reinforce our position as creative leader.”