Leif Podhajsky is an Australian graphic designer, based in London, specialized in print and web design. He started making abstract and psychedelic visuals like a hobby during his studies and then for bands and labels with who he continues to keep a close connection, among these we find Tame Impala, Denai Moore, Lykke Li, Foals, Kelis, Bonobo, The Horrors, Mount Kimbie, Grimes or also Santigold. He has always preferred the artistic aspect of his work and he thinks that his career started at the right moment, a moment when a lot of musicians were emerging and fitted with his universe.

Afterthat, he collaborated with Bose & Spotify, Nike, Tate & Google, magazines such as The Wired et New Scientist but also brands like Ballantine’s for who he developed a series of creations for Christmas. More details on this projects in the next part of the article.

During one year and a half, Leif focused on 3 creations for the Scottish whisky brand Ballantine’s. In this Christmas pack, we first find the bottle B12, put in a box in metal and relief, with abstract patterns appealing to the imagination of the owner. The blue color is here to recall the brand’s color. The packaging was made digitally on Photoshop from a gallery of images dealing with the Scottish landscape. Even if he practices painting, he prefers the freedom allowed by digital tools : exploring different options, being able to work rapidly by listing to music, doing and undoing the last edits easily. “The painting can make you block on an idea for a long time and it’s hard to come back without restarting everything again”, he confessed to us.

Then, there’s a 3D printed sculpture by Materialise, that Leif also designed, which represents the different steps of the whisky’s elaboration through 12 layers of resin, like B12 and like the 12 years of whisky age. Inspired by the Scottish landscape, he wanted to create an organic, wavy artwork, in which the bottle emerges.

To finish, the last piece is a jacket for bottle, designed in neoprene, which looks like a surfing wetsuit. For the patterns, Leif kept the blue of Ballantine’s but added a work on the elements with the presence of the orange color, echoing with fire. The wetsuit highlights the shapes of the bottles and can be used to dress up your next bottles of Ballantine’s. The neoprène was chosen because it’s known for its impermeability and to revive colors, contrary to cotton, for instance.

This Christmas pack will be available in most of the malls from the 1st December.
The sculpture is part of an exception’s collection limited to 12 numbered artworks, sold in the best wine retailers and on Bar Premium for 400€.


Video by agency Les 84.