How Kuoni uses its visual language to communicate values

The man at the helm of Kuoni's 2009 photo shoot on the Seychelles was Berlin designer Michael Schickinger, who developed the concept with Kuoni in his capacity as Creative Director. The pictures from the shoot were obviously imbued with his own ideas of beauty and perfection, but the photos also had to reflect values that are part of the zeitgeist - especially in the "New Premium" segment - like quality, sensuousness and self-fulfilment. We talked to Michael Schickinger about the shoot, about beauty and about the significance of colour.

The theme for Kuoni's last shoot was "Beach and Luxury". Was there a concept developed for the shoot in advance, a sort of screenplay?

M.S. Of course. With a theme like luxury, or "New Premium", you first have to think a lot about the issues and values involved if you really want to achieve a convincing, high quality outcome. You can't just show a bit of sun, beach and sea and hope for the best. Subtlety and aesthetics play a crucial part in shaping the images. It all starts with the choice of characters, clothes and locations, because the luxury we're concerned with isn't to do with splendour and showing off; it's about quality, harmony and sensuality. Our concept picks up on these values and uses them to tell subtle stories about being free, about being in harmony with yourself and your environment.

Click here to read the full article in the Kuoni Brand Report 2009