Interview about Neev Ice Cream Package, winner of the A' Packaging Design Award 2024
In this design, which is named with musical techniques, it is tried to harmonize the illustrations on the package with the name of each product. The illustrations are drawn in a simple way with a beautiful technique and various colors according to the taste of each ice cream. In the design of this packaging, an interaction between music and ice cream flavors has been created. The purpose of this packaging is to combine the different feelings of listening to music and eating ice cream. So you might want to experience it and listen to a piece of music with the same theme while eating ice cream.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe idea began with the observation that both music and ice cream trigger emotional memory. Each has rhythm, tone, and tempo that influence human mood. I wanted to merge these sensory experiences to visualize how taste could sound.Each flavor became a musical composition: Solo for deep, bold chocolate; Duette for the romantic blend of vanilla and berries; Rhythm and Melody for tropical and chocolate variations. By connecting auditory structure to gustatory pleasure, the packaging itself became an orchestra of flavors.
To visualize this connection, I employed vector-based illustration with sharp yet flowing forms, reminiscent of musical waves. Layering and rhythm were central principles: shapes repeat like melodies, and color transitions echo tonal shifts.The key was harmony between abstraction and legibility. Each artwork had to sing, not literally, but emotionally. The result was a symphony of color, shape, and tempo that mirrors both sound and flavor.
My painting background guided the entire creative structure. Compositionally, I treated each package as a stage where movement, balance, and color dialogue occur.I relied on chromatic harmony rather than contrast; each tone was tuned like a note to express mood: warm reds and violets for passion, mint greens for freshness, and creamy neutrals for calm. The painter’s intuition about rhythm and negative space was crucial in achieving emotional fluidity across the series.
The research focused on cross-sensory perception, how auditory cues influence taste perception. Studies show that high-pitched sounds enhance sweetness, while low-pitched tones evoke richness.By mapping these emotional parallels, I built a design system where melodic visuals corresponded to the taste profile. This approach turned packaging into a synesthetic bridge, where the act of choosing ice cream feels like selecting a favorite song.
Using In-Mold Labeling (IML) presented precise color limitations and alignment challenges. Musical illustrations rely on subtle gradients and overlapping transparencies, both difficult in IML due to heat fusion and plastic curvature.To overcome this, I optimized the artwork for layer durability and visual integrity, simplifying gradients into color zones while maintaining visual rhythm. Technical precision became part of the aesthetic discipline.
The balance emerged through discipline: the package had to protect, preserve, and perform, but also inspire. By designing within strict technical parameters, I discovered creative opportunities, for instance, using lid colors as rhythmic cues that connect product variants visually on-shelf.This synthesis of art and function transformed the packaging into both a practical container and a sensory narrative.
Each musician illustration was developed as a symbolic performer of the flavor’s emotion. The guitarist, flutist, cellist, and harpist are not literal depictions; they represent moods of taste.The design process started with expressive sketches, refining body gestures to evoke rhythm and harmony. Simplified geometric anatomy and dynamic postures help the viewer “feel” sound without hearing it. Every pose visually conveys the flavor’s personality.
Neev’s design aligns with the current movement toward experiential minimalism, packaging that communicates emotion through abstraction rather than excess. While many ice cream brands rely on hyper-realistic imagery, Neev offers a cultural and artistic narrative.Its fusion of art and sensory storytelling positions it within premium emotional branding, appealing to design-conscious consumers seeking meaning beyond indulgence.
Music is a universal language; this was the foundation. I intentionally avoided any cultural specifics, focusing instead on emotion through posture and color. The musical metaphor transcends language and age: a child sees joy, an adult perceives nostalgia.By using abstract illustration, I ensured the design could communicate universally human emotions, excitement, harmony, and pleasure across markets and demographics.
Neev represents my belief that packaging can be multi-sensory storytelling. The future lies in fusing sensory channels, sight, touch, emotion, and even sound, into cohesive brand experiences.This project reaffirmed that visual silence and rhythm can create deeper emotional engagement than literal imagery. In future works, I will continue to explore synesthetic design, where form and feeling unite into one seamless sensory dialogue.
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