When we were approached by Snåsa Water in the of fall of 2014 there was only a wooden shed covering a pipe in the middle of a thick Norwegian forest. The brief was to create a new bottle design addressing a new idea of luxury.
Water is the most humble of all drinks, a platonic element and the source of life itself. We wanted the bottle and brand design to be emblematic of a mindful and humble lifestyle in touch with a growing sensibility towards our natural habitat.
The Snåsa municipality in south Trøndelag counts about 2.000 people surrounded by more than 2.500 lakes where the Sami culture have been living for centuries. The Sami are the only indigenous people of Scandinavia. For centuries they have followed the movements of the reindeer herds with a spiritual and symbiotic relationship to nature. Artifacts used in their shamanic rituals are often inscribed with ideograms related with the ancient runic alphabet.
We created a custom made bottle shape that is both archetypal and timeless; a vessel resembling the archaic shape of the nomadic tent. The bottle becomes an integral part of the branding, concentrating the identity elements on the conic neck. The runic tree-looking symbol is a “bind-rune” commonly used for protection and good fortune, a ligature of runic pictograms spelling SNÅSA. Inspired by an artisanal glass technique of merging two shapes of coloured glass together (called incalmo) the object conveys both a contemporary and archaic formal language.
The economy of colours and design elements emphasises an austere but iconic expression and the combination of spray decor and silkscreen comes to life through a vivid play of refractions on the base of the shape once filled with water.
In an attempt to change the wording commonly used in the category we engaged a novelist in writing a poem about water. A passage of the poem is written on the back of each bottle.
Agency: OlssønBarbieri
Designers: Henrik Olssøn, Erika Barbieri
Photographer: Sigve Aspelund (Tinagent)
Manufacturer: Verallia
Client: Snåsa Water
CAD Development Bottle: Stokke Austad
Writer: Joakim Kjørsvik
Location: Norway
