The Indian spirit of craft
Branding / Print / Packaging / Digital
Collaborators:
Shovan Gandhi (Photography), Infomedia Web Solutions (Web Development)
Team:
Aayushi Katare, Rohnit Rehani, Kriti Monga, Hanumant Khanna
The Brand: Terai brings together the expertise of four generations of agricultural and distilling heritage, an Indian 'spirit of craft', carefully selected local botanicals and a proprietary base spirit to be an India Dry Gin of true provenance.
The Idea: Where does one begin building a story for a new brand of liquor. After dabbling in fantastic fables, grand Indian stories and Gin history, we finally found that we had to look no further than the rich heritage of the founder's family. The Swarups' familial connection to the land, its history and people provided rich fodder to create an authentic story for the Gin. 'Craft' was reinterpreted in an Indian context and a brand was created with as much care and honest clarity as the liquid.
Design: The journey took us through strategy, storytelling, naming, bottle design, identity design, label making, and working with traditional craftsmen for the wooden stopper.
The Wreath
A very special set of vintage Indian coins that we
stumbled upon in the Swarup family's collection became
the inspiration for an illustration of our botanicals. These
coins minted in early independent India have a unique
visual style, symbolic of Indian pluralism itself, with an
apparent collaboration between colonial designers and
Indian artists. The Terai botanicals have been visually
interpreted in a similar way, a hat-tip to that era. They
were researched, drawn carefully by hand, then
converted with specialised craftsmen to a fine sculptural
emboss on the Terai label.
The Wreath
A very special set of vintage Indian coins that we
stumbled upon in the Swarup family's collection became
the inspiration for an illustration of our botanicals. These
coins minted in early independent India have a unique
visual style, symbolic of Indian pluralism itself, with an
apparent collaboration between colonial designers and
Indian artists. The Terai botanicals have been visually
interpreted in a similar way, a hat-tip to that era. They
were researched, drawn carefully by hand, then
converted with specialised craftsmen to a fine sculptural
emboss on the Terai label.
The Wreath
A very special set of vintage Indian coins that we stumbled upon in the Swarup family's
collection became the inspiration for an illustration of our botanicals. The illustrations
was researched, drawn carefully by hand, then converted with specialised craftsmen to a
fine sculptural emboss on the label.
Stopper Design
Our search for the right Terai bottle stopper took us to
India's beloved 'toy town' Channapatna. The
handcrafted stoppers are made of ivory wood that is
backyard-grown, seasoned, and carved on simple
lathes. Natural tree-sap lacquer coloured with vegetable
dyes are used to coat the piece as it spins, buffed to a
shine using palm leaves. The beautiful stoppers are a
physical outcome of the brand's craft story.
Stopper Design
Our search for the right Terai bottle stopper took us to
India's beloved 'toy town' Channapatna. The
handcrafted stoppers are made of ivory wood that is
backyard-grown, seasoned, and carved on simple
lathes. Natural tree-sap lacquer coloured with vegetable
dyes are used to coat the piece as it spins, buffed to a
shine using palm leaves. The beautiful stoppers are a
physical outcome of the brand's craft story.
Stopper Design
Handcrafted in India's beloved 'toy town' Channapatna, these stoppers are
made of ivory wood that is carved on simple lathes and coloured with natural
tree-sap lacquer.
Bar Games
Spin the Channapatna made spintop on the Terai bottle.
If you can make a G&T before it stops or falls off, you
win!
Bottle Design
Terai was conceived as a confident, modern, global
brand with a strong, deeply rooted and authentic Indian
spirit. The bottle would be the primary touchpoint to
express this. Amongst our sketches, a tall, faceted
design inspired by hand-carved pillars in ancient Indian
architecture and products was selected for development.
The shape, dimensions, proportions of the lip, shoulder,
body and base were refined and tested over months,
achieving the right form, ergonomics and fabrication
details.
Bottle Design
Terai was conceived as a confident, modern, global
brand with a strong, deeply rooted and authentic Indian
spirit. The bottle would be the primary touchpoint to
express this. Amongst our sketches, a tall, faceted
design inspired by hand-carved pillars in ancient Indian
architecture and products was selected for development.
The shape, dimensions, proportions of the lip, shoulder,
body and base were refined and tested over months,
achieving the right form, ergonomics and fabrication
details.
Bottle Design
The tall, faceted design is inspired by the hand-carved pillars of ancient Indian architecture.
The shape, dimensions and proportions of the bottle were refined over months, achieving the right
form, ergonomics and production details.
