Jinlongquan: A Beer Packaging Design with a Rich History

Jin Zhang's Award-Winning Design Combines Tradition and Innovation

Jin Zhang's design inspiration came from the Chinese dragon sculpture at the former site of the Jinlongquan distillery, established in 1978. The Chinese dragon, a mascot and spiritual symbol of the brand, is prominently featured in the design. Additional elements such as hops, ears of wheat, wooden wine barrels, and the Zhanghe Reservoir, the water source for the beer, are also included. These elements not only reflect the beer industry attributes but also create a strong brand recognition through the redesign of the logo font and brand color.

What sets Jinlongquan's design apart is its unique blend of rich illustrations and brand symbolism. The use of black-and-white illustrations provides a larger display area on the 1L tank, allowing for a detailed depiction of the brand's spiritual symbol and product attributes. The combination of red and gold further highlights the brand and product information, resulting in a rich and hierarchical packaging design scheme.

The project was launched in Hubei, China in January 2022 and completed in Wuhan, China in February. The design is expected to hit the market in China in April. The beer is brewed with high-end raw materials, making it fresher and mellower, reflecting Jinlongquan's status as one of the largest beer brewing bases in Central China.

One of the challenges faced during the design process was to create a medium and high-end product that could improve the brand image while conveying the long history of the Jinlongquan brand. The design needed to make consumers feel the good quality of the product, have the unique spiritual symbol of the brand, and show the pure product attribute of beer. This was successfully achieved through the use of rich illustrations and a strong brand recognition strategy.

With its unique blend of tradition and innovation, Jin Zhang's Jinlongquan beer packaging design is a testament to the power of design in enhancing brand image and consumer perception. The design's success is further validated by its recent Silver A' Packaging Design Award, a prestigious recognition awarded to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation.