April 13th, 2010
It was about time to tell the world what most of us Finns already know: Koskenkorva Vodka has at least as many attributes to it as a Rorschach inkblot has different interpretations. This was the combination the team of BOB Helsinki had in mind when they contacted us about the project.
The decision-makers at Altia liked the idea but were still a bit uncertain whether this was the direction they wanted to take with Koskenkorva. The first task Art Director Jaakko Kastari threw at us was creating a convincing first version that would help the client make the final decision.
Tuomas Korpi, Brett King and Mikko Vormala started with some rough tests of the inkblot. "We tried some different overall styles and picture elements in the stain but most of the experimentation was done around the technical execution.", says Tuomas. "How sharp or blurred, dominant or subtle will the different elements be and how we wanted to lead the viewers attention from larger shapes to the fine details. This lead us to the basic idea of having one or two really clear shapes with some smaller things to be found for the more attentive viewer."
Inside artist's mind
While the 2D-guys were busy designing the inkblot, Timo Hämäläinen took care of creating the Koskenkorva bottle in 3D. "We tried some different approaches with the transparency of the inkblot behind the bottle.", says Timo. "But pretty soon it became evident that simplicity and clarity is the way to go here. The vodka needs to be crisp and clear and the inkstain messing with the bottle too much wouldn't help with that."
Once the three amigos had their inky designs together, it was Brett who took up the task of creating the actual series. "One picture of the series was shown at the Nobel Prize ceremonies and we put all kind of academic stuff into the illustration.", says Brett. "There's a violin, books, Greco-Roman columns and what have you. All in all it was a really fun campaign to create especially with so many of us being able to participate in the process."
Credits
Client: AltiaAgency: BOB Helsinki
Creatives: Jaakko Kastari, Anu Igoni, Petu Pesonen
Project Management: Maija Silamo, Maria Falcken