Reviving Tradition: XinJiHao 10's Innovative Tea Packaging

Evan Chen's Award-Winning Design Marries Ancient Heritage with Modern Aesthetics

Pu'er tea, originating from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, is known for its unique characteristic of becoming more fragrant as it ages. This quality has been beautifully encapsulated in the XinJiHao 10 packaging design. The product features a ten-year-old Pu'er tea, with the Chinese character for "ten" prominently displayed on the packaging, symbolizing the product's most important concept.

The design team, including WenChao Wang, JinFei Yang, BaoHui Qiu, ShengXing Tang, Evan Chen, Ziming Guo, Lei Huang, and Guojin Chen, faced the creative challenge of visually expressing the quality of "Black Gold Decade". The solution was found in the history of Pu'er tea transportation. Historically, the tea was pressed into round cakes and loaded into bamboo shoot shell barrels to cross the high mountains, thus forming a unique ring bulge shape. This shape has been introduced into the tea canister design, symbolizing the mountains that breed the tea.

The packaging uses the Chinese character "ten" to skillfully divide the picture into four modules. The upper module turns left and right respectively from the middle line, revealing a golden inner box loaded with an abstract mountain sculpture. Opening the tea box from the golden cross line is akin to opening a golden age of ten years, enhancing the user experience.

The design project, launched in Suzhou in March 2021, is a testament to the power of research and understanding the essence of the product. The design team delved into the long history of Pu'er tea, dating back to 3000 years ago in the early Zhou Dynasty. The result is a design that not only serves a functional purpose but also tells a story, making the ancient Pu'er tea a container with unique memory.

In conclusion, the XinJiHao 10 tea packaging design by Evan Chen and his team is a perfect example of how design can bridge the gap between tradition and innovation. By understanding and respecting the history of Pu'er tea, they have created a design that is not only visually appealing but also rich in cultural significance. It is no surprise that this design was awarded the Golden A' Packaging Design Award in 2022, a testament to its extraordinary excellence and impact on the world of design.