Audemars Piguet X Art X Chinese New Year: A Modern Take on Tradition

Ruth Chao Studio's Innovative Design Merges Art, Tradition, and Luxury

Chinese New Year (CNY) is a festival that dates back to the 14th Century B.C Shang Dynasty. Three traditions are central to this celebration: BaiNian, where family and friends visit each other’s homes bearing gifts and well wishes; Candy Box, a container filled with treats for guests to enjoy together; and Red Packets, envelopes within which tokens of care, such as money, chocolates, or gold coins, are shared.

Ruth Chao Studio, in collaboration with Audemars Piguet, has reimagined these traditions for the modern world. Celebrating the brand’s annual theme of APxArt, traditional CNY themes are distilled into abstract layers, painting intelligent double-meanings and breathing modernity into this classic festivity. The duo-layer design on the candy box cover creates a sense of depth for the scene of homecoming, with a chimney and doorway leading into the brand origins of mountainous Le Brassus.

The realization of this design involved the use of cutting-edge technology. The acrylic box cover uses duo-side printing to create a layering effect. The box body is made in electroplated gold with acrylic inserts. The red pockets are screen printed and foiled on red and gold papers, with 3D emboss details to give a textural touch.

The design project was launched in January 2020 in fourteen cities and eight countries around the world, from China, Singapore, Thailand to the U.S.A and more. This campaign, similar to Chinese New Year itself, crosses continents and unites celebrations. The design was researched thoroughly, with the most popular and loved greetings of the CNY forming a set of 4 red pockets, each depicting a traditional CNY greeting.

The challenge of this project lay in combining all 3 elements into 1 gift - the brand Audemars Piguet, their annual theme APXART, and Chinese New Year. The innovative approach to package red pockets within the candy box allowed the candy box to carry double-uses: As a packaging medium, and a festive item used during the CNY. The use of material was improved in the sampling process, with the candy box first beginning as wood, with carvings on the cover, but to align with the brand's contemporary vibe, more creative material pairings were explored.

This innovative design, which merges tradition with modernity, has been recognized with the Silver A' Packaging Design Award in 2020. This prestigious award is given to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.