Logo & Packaging Design
Creating a Japanese tea brand that stands out
As a keen tea drinker, I often roam the markets to scavenge for nostalgic tea flavors. Yet as a keen designer also, many times my attention naturally slides to the tea packaging designs. After scanning with my eyes all the designs on the shelves, I start to wonder, among those similar designs, how would I design a tea brand that instantly stands out? The answer lies in this branding project.
A fan of the subtle taste of the Japanese green tea that brings back the times I spent in Kyoto a few years back, I decided to create an Uji green tea brand that would sell on European market shelves, with a design that combines both Japanese and European artistic flavors.
To this end, I created an outside-the-box logo that successfully merged both Japanese and English in its name. Written in English as ocha, this word comes from its Japanese counterpart, お茶, meaning tea. Since the Uji green tea is well-known for its hand-picked tea leaves, I chose a typeface that feels organic and hand-made. On top of that, I kept the letter o, but arranged the letters c, h, a in a way to reflect the resemblance of the character 茶 with three leaves added in the bottom (as I break down the logo below).
Similar to the logo, I also wanted to create an intercultural packaging design that integrates Japanese and European elements in a way that connects with people. Here, instead of flower or leaf pictures common on tea packages, I decided to put on the package something completely different -- a soothing and appealing illustration of a girl enjoying the fragrance of the tea.
In a relaxed resting pose, the girl character -- with her subtle and peaceful expression -- invites more imagination from the consumers on the taste and drinking experience of the tea. Inspired by Alphonse Mucha's iconic painting The Seasons (1896) and hand drawn in the Japanese manga style, the girl illustration bravely combined multicultural elements, achieving a unique, storytelling visual that appeals to people's instinctive pursuit of creativity.
