We speak to Stranger & Stranger to learn more about the agency and their Platinum award-winning work for LAGG whisky.

Tell us a little bit about the agency, Stranger & Stranger

Stranger & Stranger is a very unique specialist packaging design consultancy. Our work is mostly in the global beverage sector working for both internationally well-known brands on the one side and new to market start-up brands on the other.

2024 will see our boutique agency celebrating 30 years in business, consequently, our creative and strategic teams are some of the most long-standing and accomplished in the industry.

Where do you see the agency heading to next? 

To continue to strive for creative excellence in all that we do each day. Create great work that surprises and delights our wonderful trusting clients and satisfies our creative passion. To simply continue to do what we do best. Here’s to the next 30 years in business!

Stranger & Stranger at the 2023 Pentawards Gala Ceremony collecting their Platinum award for Lagg Whisky

We are extremely proud to be recognised by our design peers for the branding and packaging works for our client the LAGG Distillery on the Isle of Arran. All our crew are dedicated to producing the best possible design works for our clients on a daily basis and to be awarded such an accolade is really the icing on the cake for our team!

Can you talk us through the journey of creating the packaging for LAGG Whisky, the inspiration and challenges in bringing the pack to life?

As with all our projects we look to do our homework first, so getting to visit and know as much about the brand as possible is vital for us.

LAGG is such a unique proposition, a new distillery producing only peated whiskies. The distillery is a new build. When we first visited there were only access roads, some foundations and a few walls built. We were immediately struck by the unique provenance of this new distillery. A total contrast to the very well-established parent distillery on the other side of the island.

Having previously partnered with the Isle of Arran Distillers team on the repackaging of their very well known and established namesake whiskies, this was something very new and very different, not only in the style of the liquid going to be offered but in the unique position and style of the proposed new distillery building. Our branding and packaging design therefore needed to reflect this entirely. It simply all had to be all about the peat!

Which part of creating the pack did you and the team love the most?

Creating a whole unique LAGG alphabet out of printed peat letterforms was certainly something you don’t get to do everyday coupled with being able to reflect the unique island geography into glass is something else that you very seldom get to do and to keep referencing the hand crafted feel of working with peat, from the traditional tools to a contemporary interpretation of this craft in a single pack was a joy to design!

Are you currently working on any exciting new projects? 

We’re very privileged to be partnering such a cross section of clients in the drinks industry that everyday we get to work on exciting new projects. However, due to confidentiality we’re unable to speak of individual projects here... Just watch this space for when we can!

What does the power of design mean to you?

Our niche speciality allows for great design to speak directly to consumers on an emotional level, influencing the journey of a specific brand – that is the pure power of good design.

Follow your dream, find something you love to do and dedicate yourself to it, strive to be the very best you can be, never stop honing your craft and be open to new challenges, never forget that anything is possible!

Find out more about Stranger & Stranger here , and enter this year's competition for a chance to be a Platinum Award winner!