Kliros
Package design is a creative, but also, at the same time, a demanding practical process, that aims to embrace and feature the unique characteristics of the product, while it protects it in a perfect way. In our case, an extra virgin olive oil from the island of Thassos, was in need of packaging and name. And indeed, Artware accepted these two challenges of package design and branding, thus started with the process of studying both the product’s main characteristics and the market, focusing on competition.
There were two main characteristics that inspired us in this project. The first one was the historical, but also common in everyday life valuable presence of the product, as an ingredient, a trade product, or a “functional” idea in the local, and the Mediterranean in general, culture.
The second aspect was the significance of the location. The “roots” of the product and the “branches” of its production, all well connected to the soil and the land. A piece of land that was commonly given as an allotment to the farmers.
The essence of the pattern lies literally in the topography of the product.
Kliros – The Brand
Originated from the Greek word κλῆρος /klēros/, the name was created in order to describe the touch of fate, a lucky draw, an allotment, a blessed piece of arable land by the divine presence of Demeter or Ceres. It’s something more than a common noun to describe just a single meaning. By the name Kliros, we include the values of the product, its importance through the centuries, and also the pure and direct way of production, cold extracted from the olive, harvested straight from the tree, which grows deeply rooted in the soil.
Kliros, m (EL): κλήρος, ο [klíros] < κλῆρος, ο [klēros]: 1. a lot, 2. what is obtained by lot, 3. an allotment, 4. a plot of land rented, owned, or inherited, 5. an individual’s fate (fig.)
Kliros – The package
Designing eleven different volume versions of glass and metallic bottles, cans and canisters for this precious product, our intention was to fully integrate all the brand’s characteristics into the visual aspect. Printed on the dark glass or metal surface a white pattern resembling a topographic map of allotments. At the centre of this patters with the white depiction of allotments, there are three fields in gold, forming the letter k, the initial letter of the word Kliros. Thus, the purity and the qualities of the product are also implied by the element of gold.
