Created by blenders at Beam Suntory, Ardray is a new blended Scotch which seeks to drive a reappraisal of the category. As a whisky of exquisite balance, Ardray combines the bold characteristics and heritage of Scotch whiskies with the precise craftsmanship of Japanese blending.
Built on the premise that blended whisky is an art form that deserves both respect and reappraisal, Beam Suntory approached us to create a new brand world, identity and packaging to do justice to the new blend.
The result is a positioning, identity and bottle that balances the wild and precise, referencing the beautifully rugged landscape of Scotland and the meticulous attention to detail of the Japanese arts.
Wild Precision was the creative strategy behind our work which, like the liquid, sought to balance the best of Japanese and Scottish design traditions. The result is an identity and bottle that balances the wild and precise, referencing the wild terroir of Scotland and the meticulous attention to detail of the Japanese arts.
The bottle is richly textured with an organic rippling pattern, inspired by the Scottish highlands and the two fundamental ingredients in Scotch malt whisky: the free-flowing water of streams and rivers, and the fields of barley, gently blowing in the wind.
The Ardray wordmark slices vertically through the bottle. A bold nod to the craft of Japanese typography. The serif typeface speaks to the rich history of Japan and is carefully balanced with other typography on the pack.
Inspired by a drawing found in Shinjiro’s sketch book, we have designed an icon that balances the two cultures across the entire brand world - acting as a harmonious stamp.
To capture the spirit of Ardray Here worked with artist Lia Melia to create an abstract artwork that references the wild terroir of Scotland. The warm tones not only evoke the dramatic sunlit colours of the heathland but also cue the inherent warmth and flavour of the liquid. The artwork inspired the chosen colour palette for the brand world.
