Íssól Icelandic Teapot

Design: Michaella Ballas
Project Type: Student Project
School: RMIT University
Course: Communication Design
Tutor: Renato Gallina
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Packaging Contents: Teapot
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Card, Paper, wood, magnets, ribbon
Printing Process: Digital printing, metallic ink, suminagashi

Íssól is a hypothetical modern Icelandic luxury homewares brand. All products are 100 percent designed and manufactured in Iceland using materials sourced only from Iceland’s unique landscape. This packaging is for the ‘Víti Teapot’, a teapot made from Iceland’s volcanic rock.

The name Íssól is a female name meaning ‘ice and sun’ in old norse. The fresh identity includes a pictorial logo that could be interpreted as a snowflake or sun rays.

Reflecting the teapot’s volcanic nature, the box is inspired by the bright blue lakes that form on top of volcanoes— called Vítis. A unique pattern of water marbling is repeated throughout the design to represent both the flow of lava and also these blue pools. Recycled paper has been used for the outer of the box to match the colour of volcanic stone. The teapot has been embellished with a laser cut wooden swing tag and comes with a brand book and a coaster. As you open the box it smells of thyme oil, reminiscent of Iceland’s countryside.

In line with Issol’s sustainability, no glue has been used in the structure of the packaging. Instead the box has been sewn together discreetly using cotton thread.

What’s Unique?
The box incorporates strips of hand-printed paper that have been uniquely created through water marbling. Each piece is different and cannot be repeated. This represents the lava of the Icelandic volcanoes and the blue water held within the volcanoes’ craters.