The Rice Guardian 🦔

CHALLENGUE/ Creation of a rice brand for a small family business in Manchuria China, known for the exceptional quality of its rice, grown using traditional methods and with great care. Until now, they have sold their product locally in generic packaging. To expand and capture the attention of a new market, they need to launch a premium line with packaging that reflects their philosophy: a high-quality product, cultivated with care, combining tradition with a modern and attractive design. The challenge is to create packaging that is radically different from industrial rice sacks. It must evoke a sense of warmth, authenticity, care & stand out on the shelves of gourmet shops and specialised markets.

CONCEPT IDEA/ While investigating the edges of the rice fields, a small creature was discovered: a hedgehog. This creature is a silent guardian, acting as a natural insecticide by feeding on insects that affect rice crops. In a way, it is the eternal guardian of the quality of the rice produced by our small company in Manchuria (China), which is why it features prominently on the packaging.

GRAPHIC DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION/ Graphically, the visual metaphor of rice grains was used. The different shapes of the grains also indicate the type of grain: organic short grain, medium grain and large grain. The idea was for the main design to be adorable, unique, visually related to the product and to help create brand awareness on the shelf. In addition, the illustrations were refined in post-production with Illustrator, with minimal intervention to remove sharp details. The typography is handwritten; the idea was for the logo to resemble grains of rice.

PACKAGING/

Material/ A natural, rustic material such as kraft paper is used, conveying authenticity & sustainability.

Format/ 0.5kg, 1kg and 2kg bags with a manual closure (tie) that reinforces the feeling of a handmade product.

Additional elements/ A cardboard tag is included with information about the product & the brand, reinforcing the feeling of a handmade item.