Method And Madness

Creative Agency: M&E
Creative Directors: Matthew Bolger & Emelie Lidström (M&E Design)
Bottle photography: M&E Design
Advertising Agency: Public House
Label copy: Jarrod Banadyga
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: Irish Distiller Pernod Ricard
Location: Ireland
Packaging Contents: Whiskey
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass, Paper, wood, cork
Printing Process: Flexography, Screen Printing, Foil Stamping

The new experimental whiskey brand from Midleton.

Method and Madness is a new range of experimental super premium whiskeys from The Midleton Distillery designed to push the boundaries of Irish Whiskey.

The identity for this completely new brand reflects it’s name, and the juxtaposition between the words method and madness served as a very interesting starting point for designers M&E. Inspired by the Masters and Apprentices working side by side at the new micro distillery, the brand identity strives to convey the sense of excitement of when tradition and innovation are combined.

M&E wanted to create a bespoke bottle that celebrates the liquid and the process behind it’s creation. Although the bottle design takes cues from laboratory glassware found in the micro distillery and the paneling of a whiskey cask, the designers also took inspiration from outside of distilling and Ireland, wanting a departure from traditional whiskey branding and design.

The octagonal shape of the bottle was designed to refract and bounce light. The side panel embossings were created to produce a kaleidoscope of patterns within the bottle, bringing method and madness together.

The brand identity uses two opposing patterns throughout all the labeling and packaging. The use of straight lines symbolises method and order, while the marbled patterns reference madness and liquid experimentation. These paper marbled patterns were custom made by M&E for each release, using a colour palette identifying each type of whiskey. These colour palettes were inspired by details from the micro distillery.

It was important to M&E that elements of the identity are modular to allow the brand to expand it’s range without repetition, since the brand will continue to release new expressions forming the next generation of Irish whiskey.

What’s Unique?
It’s a complete departure from Irish whiskey design. The bottle is a bespoke bottle designed and produced only for this brand and the shape of the bottle is also unique to Irish whiskey.

The embossings on the side panels and bottle itself is designed to bounce light and pattern around inside the bottle creating an optical illusion where method and madness meet.