Bratus Agency – Xuân khúc

Xuân Khúc is a special gift set of four traditional dried candied fruits, only prepared to celebrate ‘Tet’ – Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Our mission is to revive Tet traditions while modernizing its cultural values and ensure the high efficiency and functions of the food packaging. The concept is inspired by “Tố Nữ” – the famous painting of Hàng Trống traditional folk art, which represents the charisma of Vietnamese women and the beauty of spring. All candied fruits are also picked based on the sounds they make while being consumed, that match perfectly with the musical instruments of four “Tố Nữ” ladies. “Xuân Khúc” presents the happiness and pleasures in the first days of spring, when people share reunions with family and enjoy dried candied fruits with wonderful music and pretty blossoms. During the first stage of ideation, we conducted qualitative research, explored different approaches and experiments to come up with the original ideas that deliver the traditional Tet heritages. The main inspiration comes from the Art Deco movement of the 1920s – 1930s, especially from its minimal and geometric abstract illustrations. This design decision adds a new elegance and high-class look to a Vietnam traditional product and upgrades it to a modern and globally accessible level. We create traditional and modern fusion by connecting the abstractive color forms, curvy lines, and strong geometric strokes. This approach constructs melodic and poetic feels for the packaging design and amplify antique characters of Tet holiday. Moreover, we also revise the carving patterns of Nguyen Dynasty for the background that describe symbolic flowers of four seasons. Besides the inspiration from Art Deco style, the typography also maintains Vietnamese cultural influences with unique typesetting in borders of antique lacquered boards. The low contrast and elegant type strokes also remind of Vietnamese calligraphy.Packaging materials are also considered to reflect Vietnamese traditions and cultures. We apply the hand-crafted silk-screen printing and gold foil on natural tone paper stock to honor contemporary folk arts. The final output is a set of four memorable Tet flavors covered by modernized graphic designs.