The following article was originally published by Printing Impressions. To read more of their content, subscribe to their newsletter, Today on PIWorld.
Birds, like bees, are one of our early environmental warning systems. They rely on healthy habitats to be able to survive and thrive. Concerned about the plight of the world’s bird population, visionary conservationists founded BirdLife, the largest international partnership for nature conservation.
To generate awareness and raise much-needed funds, the makers of Redbreast Irish Whiskey collaborated with BirdLife to launch the limited-edition Project Wingman Bird Feeder. This clever marriage of packaging and charitable mission is a perfect reminder that good design isn’t simply pretty, but it also has the power to make the world a better place.
Designed by Nude Brand Creation and developed and manufactured by our good friends at GPA Global, this special packaging for Redbreast Irish Whiskey instantly catches the eye.
The copper shell features a cut-out herringbone pattern that offers a tantalizing glimpse of the bottle inside. The Redbreast name, logo and whiskey description are all laser-etched onto a label-like copper field on the front, while “Redbreast” appears once more on the shoulder, this time debossed.
A handsome leather strap runs up and over the top of the bottle, anchoring it firmly inside the copper case, with the liquor’s name hot foil stamped in Gold along the length of the strap. Dangling from the neck, a matching folded hangtag explains the story behind the limited edition packaging in matching Copper foil.
Beautiful, Sabine, but how do we get to the whiskey inside? Glad you asked! 😉 Simply unscrew the bottom – just as you would many birdfeeders – and the top lifts off to reveal the bottle.
The warm Green glass of the bottle features the “Redbreast” name embossed at the top, along with a label that has been die cut for a deckled-edge look. The Redbreast logo and logomark, complete with robin illustration, is a perfect replica of what appears on the copper case. It also boasts a few foil accents, as well as a Red band along the bottom that matches the case’s leather strap.
Speaking of the case, as you have guessed by now, this is much more than just an eye-catching piece of packaging – it is something for your shelf or for your garden. Simply fill the copper shell with birdseed, hang it outside from the leather strap, and voila: You now have a feeder you can use for many years to come to help your local birds get through the winter. And €3 from the sale of each bottle goes to help BirdLife protect endangered bird populations worldwide.
The first round of this limited edition packaging was so successful that Redbreast just announced the release of more of the project Wingman Bird Feeders. This truly is a triple win: You can buy an incredibly unique bottle, make this world a better place through your donation, and have your whiskey, too.
Sabine Lenz is the founder of PaperSpecs.com, the first online paper database and community specifically designed for paper specifiers.
Growing up in Germany, Sabine started her design career in Frankfurt, before moving to Australia and then the United States. She has worked on design projects ranging from corporate identities to major road shows and product launches. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, her list of clients included Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Deutsche Bank, IBM and KPMG.
Seeing designers struggle worldwide to stay current with new papers and paper trends inspired Sabine to create PaperSpecs, an independent and comprehensive Web-based paper database and weekly e-newsletter. She is also a speaker on paper issues and the paper industry. Some refer to her lovingly as the "paper queen" who combines her passion for this wonderful substrate called paper with a hands-on approach to sharing her knowledge.