Boo Republic

Thessaloniki, Greece

Agency: Boo Republic
photographer: Stefanos Tsakiris
Location: Greece
Project Type: Produced
Client: Vardas family
Product Launch Location: Global
Packaging Contents: Extra virgin organic olive oil
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass bottle, Paper, Cardboard
Printing Process: Silkscreen, Offset

During the naming process of Skoutari olive oil, we selected the word “skoutari”, which translates as “shield” from Greek and derives from the Cretan dialect, borrowed from the lyrics of “Erotokritos” by Vincenzo Cornaro. “Skoutari” (the shield) protects the protagonist in the jousting that takes place to impress his beloved Aretousa, which works as a metaphor for the way the olive oil protects the human body due to its pharmaceutical characterization.

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In the process of visualising the text of the scene of the jousting, the horses were selected as the main subject, as an indirect reference to the Cretan romance, the protagonist and his actions. Inspired by the ancient greek black and terracota figure ceramics, in terms of both colour palette and form, the technique of linocut printing was chosen to be used for the creation of Skoutari olive oil main illustration and the bottle was coloured accordingly. With this technique, the minimalistic style of the composition is preserved while simulating the texture of ceramic pots. The galloping horses, a reminder of Erotokritos’ jousting, give a three-dimensional feeling to the illustration and make them come alive on the surface of the packaging.

What’s Unique?
The typography and text layout on Skoutari olive oil packaging was inspired by the inside cover of the first printed edition of “Erotokritos” (printed in 1723 – a romantic poem in Cretan greek dialect, considered to be one of the very first Greek books). Emphasizing as such the olive oil’s origins and distinct character. The small caps along with the adjacent accents, the font alluding to an early greek adaptation of Garamond font and the size-shifting (early small caps), intensify the man-made feeling – which, in combination with the handmade illustration, highlight the humanistic element behind the production of Skoutari olive oil.