The studio brings the product, bottle, and label to life with influences from the incredible story of Mansa Musa and his “Journey of Opulence”

For anyone of a certain age, the title “Mysterious Cities of Gold” conjures up images of hidden communities in unexplored territories, with a wealth of gold that would have been truly staggering, and the stuff of legend and folklore. In the creative concept, the studio focus on Mansa Musa, a historic figure and ruler from the 14th century, from whom they derive our product brand name, “Mansas.”

The illustrated character, depicted in the form of a gold coin emblem, is based on Musa, who is believed to have been one of the richest men that ever lived. While he derived his incredible wealth from taxes and trade throughout the vast Mali Empire (a region of West Africa) and beyond to Mecca, he was also known for his generosity and kindness to others, as well as his desire to spread success, trade, and new ideas.

Mansas Whiskey - Black Gold is a premium South African whiskey, and Backbar Studios were tasked with bringing this product, bottle, and label to life with influences from the incredible story of Mansa Musa and his “Journey of Opulence.” With visual influences taken from African, tribal, and early civilizations, designers began with a bespoke bottle embellished with a sweeping spiral of waves running around the bottle, like the rolling, shifting sands of the Sahara Desert. This became the blank canvas for a refined label design.

The label design also incorporates handcrafted typography enriched with gold foils on textured cotton paper, as well as a bespoke bottle lid with a tribal geometric pattern engraved into its wooden top and a matching tamper seal label. The very top of the bottle cap also features an etched wordmark, designed to resemble a gold coin or a token from early civilization. 

For more information on the design, visit Backbar Studios's website or follow them on Instagram .

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