Strong Tiger: Chinese Baijiu Packaging by Tiger Pan

A Unique Design Inspired by Samurai Helmets and Chinese Zodiac

The Strong Tiger design draws inspiration from the Takeda Shingen samurai helmet, known for its fierce tiger motif. Tiger Pan, the creative director, explains, "The tiger head representing the century-old Erguotou ought to be a spitting image of a samurai returning from war. Using similarities between the helmet and the tiger head, we adapted it into an abstract design."

One of the unique properties of the Strong Tiger packaging is its connection to the Chinese Zodiac. NiuLanShan, one of China's leading liquor brands, celebrates the Year of the Tiger in 2022 with this limited edition design. The tiger symbolizes strength, power, and prosperity, making it an especially important year for the brand.

The Strong Tiger packaging stands out from its competitors with its use of glass material. While most Chinese Baijiu brands opt for ceramic packaging, NiuLanShan chose glass to elevate the gloss and texture of the bottle's surface. The strict control of color printing and numbering ensures a high-quality display of the product.

The technical specifications of the Strong Tiger packaging are as follows: width 71.5mm, depth 92.5mm, and height 393mm. These dimensions provide a sleek and elegant form that complements the design's overall aesthetic.

Tiger Pan led a talented design team, including Xuedan Xia and Zhiyi Jiang for graphic design, Kelin Tan and Chao Ma for image editing, and Zhangkun Xie for technical direction. Their collaboration resulted in a design that captures the essence of Chinese culture and the spirit of the Year of the Tiger.

The Strong Tiger packaging not only showcases the design team's creativity but also addresses a key challenge in the industry. Tiger Pan explains, "How to save consumers' effort to look for an ideal product is the key challenge of this case." The distinctive symbol, bright color, explicit layout of information, and unified serial system of the package make it easy for consumers to recognize and pick up the product from afar.

The Strong Tiger packaging project lasted for two months and was designed in Shenzhen, with production taking place in Beijing. The design team conducted extensive research on Chinese Zodiac symbolism and the historical significance of samurai helmets to create a design that resonates with consumers.

With its unique blend of traditional inspiration and modern abstract design, the Strong Tiger packaging breaks away from old-fashioned realism. The sharp straight lines of the bottle body, reminiscent of a blade, convey strength and resilience. The brand design focuses on the calligraphy font Niu (Ox), extending the last stroke to emphasize its meaning of "awesome" in Chinese slang.

The Strong Tiger packaging design has been recognized for its excellence and creativity. It was awarded the Bronze A' Design Award in the Packaging Design category in 2022. This prestigious award honors designs that demonstrate technical and creative skills while contributing to improvements in quality of life.

Images:

Image #1: Photographer Kelin Tan

Image #2: Photographer Kelin Tan

Image #3: Photographer Kelin Tan

Image #4: Photographer Kelin Tan

Image #5: Photographer Kelin Tan