Skoutari olive oil

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 characterisation. 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.

The typography and layout on Skoutari olive oil packaging, constitute an inspired variation of the inside cover of the first printed edition of “Erotokritos”, emphasising as such the olive oil’s origin and distinct character. The small caps along with the adjacent accents, the font alluding to an early greek adaptation of Garamond font, intensify the man-made feeling – which, in combination with the handmade illustration, highlight the humanistic element behind the production of Skoutari olive oil.