Skizo is an up and coming Hungarian winery run by a talented young couple who want to share their passion for wines and the wondrous hills on Balaton Uplands, at the Hungarian countryside. The name Skizo is coming from a strange, schizoid situation experienced by the founders, who while working for a corporate winery started their own small scale business as wine makers. They launched the brand with vivid, quirky bottle labels to emphasize the lightsome, multicolour character of the wines. After a successful debut they decided to broaden their product range and introduce a premium line called Hegyeink, which means Our hills in Hungarian.
The premium line is an homage to the famous volcanic hills around Balaton Uplands so the design celebrates these unique geographical formations all connected by the renown Hungarian lake, Balaton. On Balaton Uplands the grapes are traditionally grown on the hills so it is used as a synonym for the vineyard. The winery owners, Balázs and his wife Réka are actually living in this region so their love for the landscape and their personal connection to the selected areas define the new product line.
I was asked to design the new labels and create an autonomous universe loosely connected to the main line, therefore we kept the logo in an elegant variation with golden and silver hot foil stamping. The collage-like graphics were inspired by a 70’s tourist map of Balaton Uplands: I was amazed by its geometrical drawings and faded colours so I reinterpreted some of its visuals to create a subtle nostalgic feeling.
The dynamic landscape appears on the label as a reflection as well: the shadow of the mountains are cut out so the radiant light green bottle acts like the water of Balaton itself. There is a logo on the top of the title portraying the iconic hills which are easily recognisable by their outlines. The colour codes indicate the different wine varieties and they make a collection side by side.
Designed by Eszter Laki
Photos by András Zoltai
