Design agency centdegrés delved into Chinese culture to mount a visitor experience at the heart of trade show LUXE PACK Shanghai earlier this month. Dubbed Data x Design, the project, described as “a cross between a museum and a lab”, exemplified how blending data and design can result in culturally relevant packaging.
“Behind the uncertainty brought to the fore in 2020, there is undeniable potential in data mining and analysis to accurately transform the way we design and produce packs,” the agency explains. The project drew on data provided by Luxurynsight, observations on the local market and input from both Chinese and international brands. The fruit of these studies showed that Chinese consumers were looking for products that expressed “a sense of balance”. “This experience was based on the concept of balance between past and future, technology and artisanship, innovation and tradition,” adds centdegrés.
To embody this idea of balance, centdegrés worked with players from the packaging and luxury industries to pool their expertise and create two products reflecting the cultural roots of two countries: a tea from China and a French perfume. Visitors could explore the various facets of the Data x Design project by sampling the scents (tea leaves and fragrance juice) and select their “ying and yang” influenced packaging: the coffret, fragrance bottle and tea canister came in both white and black versions. The fragrance was housed in a lacquered stock bottle (Bormioli Luigi) topped with PP cap, while the tea was nestled in a metal tin; both came in a paperboard coffret coated in matte film, here again in black or white.
“There is a strong nationalist movement in China as consumers are proud of 'made in China' products and their cultural heritage. They are also keen on innovation, sustainability, progress and brand stories. All of these elements should be combined if brands aim to be successful in China, especially in the long term”.
Design, concept, coordinationCent Degrés
DataLuxurynsight
CoffretShanghai XianRong Packaging
Fragrance bottleBormioli Luigi
Fragrance capRC Packaging
PumpSilgan
Bottle printing, fillingFenshang
FragrancesFirmenich
TeaDadeyu
European supplier coordinationMonkey Turnkey
