about the project
This project explores the design of a packaging series for a basic food product — an everyday, essential item that is usually taken for granted. The starting point was an in-depth research process into the product’s cultural, historical, and social contexts, deliberately moving away from packaging as a purely functional solution.
The packaging is treated as a conceptual medium: a visual system that communicates values, ideas, and a new point of view. Throughout the process, a unified visual language was developed for the entire series, while questioning the product’s conventional associations and stretching the boundaries of how it is typically perceived.
The result is a packaging series that prioritizes idea over utility, positioning design as a critical and expressive tool rather than a purely commercial object.
The food product I've chose is Corn.
The Creative Process
- Research: Using Perplexity, I've done a deep dive into the history, cultural significance, and social context of corn. From that research I've learned about the ancient alchoholic beverage called Chicha, a drink associated with the Inca Empire, rooted in the sanctity of corn and pagan culture.
- The Mission: To create 3 beverages collection, which visually communicates the history and cultural significance of the corn-based beverage, while connecting it to the modern alchoholic world.
- The Bottles: I've designed the bottles myself, using the visual features of old chicha vessels used in ancient history. then I've 3D-printed them, polished and painted.
- The Labels: For the labels design I've kept it clean, using only the ancient inca gods and the typography as visuals, to emphasise the significance of the gods in the culture. I've used Procreate to draw the gods, and each drink belongs to a different god.
- Landing Page: I've also created a landing page for the collection, in order to add realism to the project as a whole, and as another tool to expand the story.
