For all those claims about the increased cosmopolitanism of modern Irish society, commercial design tends to live in the past. This is an intentional ploy: the majority of Irish products are designed and sold by asserting a link to our history.
Most take the fairly simple approach of juxtaposing Celtic ornamentation or lettering with scenes associated with the past, such as Dublin in the rare ould times. This promotes authenticity, the past acting as a supposed repository of consistency and truth.
Combining this slightly generic method with an appeal to contemporary taste can be tricky but the Irish spirits brand Boru vodka has succeeded, thanks to designer Gillian Murphy.
The vodka’s name comes from Brian Boru, the last great High King of Ireland, who won the battle of Clontarf against the Vikings in 1014. But the only clear allusion to the king is the shield and sword image that appears on the label, which hints at mythic heroism but avoids Celtic cliché in its simplicity.
Advertisement
The colours are similarly restrained. The black background with silver lettering and icons is vaguely archaic while also evoking opulence. The obvious colours for task would be black and gold; but these are so overused for everything from chocolate box designs to perfume slogans that they now suggest tackiness rather than luxury.
But the real skill in the design of the label is in the proportion. The name Boru is the largest element — rendered in upper-case letters, it has the greatest impact. The shield and sword image appears more as an icon than a picture, giving the design a modern edge.
The lettering is also an attempt to express the past in a contemporary idiom: the Boru name is printed in a version of engravers shaded, looking as if the letters have been etched in, but elsewhere a modernist sans serif font is used. This brand may look to the past but, refreshingly, it is rooted in the present.
Advertisement