Interview about Hj Lu Yinpiaolaohao Baijiu Packaging, winner of the A' Packaging Design Award 2025
Shanxi Province is one of the most important cradles of Chinese Baijiu culture. This product comes from Shanxi. The brand originated from the Ming Dynasty in 1529 and has a history and culture of over 500 years. The design inspiration comes from the regional characteristics of Shanxi (such as Taihang Mountains), classical architecture of the Ming Dynasty, and furniture; in color matching, color contrast is used to enhance the brightness and contrast of the box and bottle shapes, creating a visual impact. The design style is antique and brings consumers a kind of Eastern classical beauty.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsIn China, the region almost determines the type of Baijiu. For example, light flavor Baijiu mostly comes from northern China, with Shanxi Province as the representative, Luzhou flavor Baijiu from southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Maotai flavor Baijiu from Guizhou Province.The most representative of Shanxi is the Taihang Mountains, which are one of the factors determining the region and climate of Shanxi Province.Integrating Taihang Mountains into the design of wine bottle caps is achieved through the concrete translation of geographical symbols, injecting the "root narrative" of Shanxi culture into the product and strengthening regional identity. Create a sense of ceremony of "opening the box to see the mountain, opening the seal to see the text", and elevate drinking behavior into a cultural experience.This design weaves natural landscapes, cultural heritage, and product functions into a complete narrative chain through the symbols of Taihang Mountains, making the design a miniature carrier of Shanxi cultural memory.
Many of the historical relics we usually see make consumers feel a sense of distance and coldness, but the clever aspect of this poster is that it makes people feel like they are in dialogue, like a person crossing over to the person in front of you. This poster elaborates in detail on the location of the distillery, the quality of the wine, and sincere sales without any deception. It seems to be telling you this history face to face.On the other hand, the text on this poster can help consumers feel the historical traces of the brand. Make it relatively easy for every consumer to understand brand culture, thus facilitating the dissemination and output of brand culture.As a part of the brand culture, my clients and I hope that this symbol can become an independent brand in Lujiu in the future.
The classical furniture and architecture of the Ming Dynasty were based on scientific structure, natural materials, and minimalist aesthetics, which not only carried practical functions but also reflected the profound artistic conception of Eastern philosophy. It is the pinnacle of Ming Dynasty craftsmanship, providing an eternal source of inspiration for future designs.In this design, we have continued this style, with concise shapes and rigorous proportions.Ming Dynasty furniture was dominated by "lines" and focused on the proportion coordination between the local and the overall. We also apply this concept in our design.In addition, in terms of material, Ming Dynasty furniture was characterized by natural textures, with high-end hardwoods such as huanghuali and rosewood being the main materials, fully utilizing the color and texture of the wood itself. Craftsmen only polish and wax the wood to preserve its natural texture and avoid excessive decoration. This is also fully reflected in the design.In terms of space, consumers can see the product before opening it, but they cannot see it clearly at all.We use hollow carving design to create a hazy and elusive beauty. There is also a mysterious visual sensation.
With the increasing maturity of Chinese consumers' consumption, more and more consumers have realized the importance of environmental protection.Solid wood for limited sales and rewards: The use of carved solid wood versions focuses on the sustainability of emotional value. The natural texture of solid wood and the uniqueness of carving endow products with the attribute of "inheritability", which may be regarded as works of art rather than consumables, strengthening the perception of scarcity. Unique experience and identity recognition. The tactile temperature of solid wood carving, the gloss changes of manual polishing, and the limited edition certificate together create a sense of exclusivity. Based on these reasons, we ultimately recommend that the client create a small amount of solid wood craftsmanship as a reward for those who drive brand sales or other dimensions of progress; Like a trophy, of course, it is also aimed at consumers in small quantities to enhance brand recognition. The cardboard made of recyclable pulp material is made with wood grain paper attached for customer facing production.This decision is essentially a calibration between "long termism" and "short-term benefits": mass production spreads environmental costs through economies of scale and quickly enters the market; Limited edition solid wood version enhances brand tone. The two jointly construct a product matrix, ultimately achieving the symbiosis of commercial value and social value.
It is both the Chinese characters' 鸿稷（Hongji）'and the brand name. We used the oldest Chinese writing style seal script to combine with Shanxi windows for our design.At the beginning of the design, we decided to use the style and form of Shanxi window decorations to design the product. It involves carving some traditional patterns on the structure of wooden windows, which is also very localized. But it means that any product design can use this style, which I think is not enough to reflect the brand's exclusivity.In the end, we came up with the idea of combining the brand font "鸿稷（Hongji）" for the design, which perfectly integrates the brand's exclusivity and regional attributes. At the same time, the faintly visible windows create a hazy beauty when bottles are placed inside.Chinese classical aesthetics advocates "implicit and introverted" and opposes direct and explicit expression. The hazy beauty is the concrete expression of this tradition.
To be honest, this has caused quite a controversy. Many people say that classical boxes should be paired with bottles in classical colors for a more harmonious color scheme.But in my opinion, this kind of "antique style" is not what I want. By deconstructing symbols, materials, and regenerating functions, a balance is built between cultural authenticity and modern aesthetics, giving it a modern design style on the basis of classicism.So I only retained the stylistic features of Ming Dynasty porcelain. Bright colors are used to reflect the "product characteristics". Light flavor Baijiu (a style with elegant and soft taste and characterized by "purity") is brewed in most wineries in Shanxi. It is obvious that this bright color is in line with the characteristics of the product. At the same time, it has achieved a modern visual experience on the basis of antique imitation.
As a designer, the concept of sustainable design has always driven me. I have always hoped to incorporate the concept of sustainability into my design.In terms of material selection, we chose cardboard made from recyclable pulp, which is different from traditional processes by mixing bamboo recycled pulp into the pulp. Bamboo takes 3 years to mature and has a carbon absorption capacity 1.5 times that of trees. The energy consumption of recycled pulp production is reduced by 60%, reducing environmental load.Through innovation in materials and forms, packaging is no longer a discarded 'waste', and users naturally perceive that every time they choose sustainable packaging, it is a gentle response to the earth. This' preachy 'experience is the key to driving sustainable behavior change.
The choice of combining zinc alloy with dropper to design metal plaques stems from the deep integration of material characteristics and cultural narratives.Zinc alloy has high density and strong plasticity, and can accurately present three-dimensional relief details of patterns through die-casting technology, while also having a sense of historical weight.We combined the cultural characteristics of the product and incorporated the style of Chinese woodblock printing into the design of this historical wine culture poster. Bring a unique historical visual experience. The transparency and extensibility of droppings become key narrative media, creating a visual illusion of "glaze flow" in static patterns and breaking the icy coldness of metal. The combination of color and luster reflects the brightness and darkness levels as the light changes, echoing the dynamic artistic conception of the design.
It's a great honor to be recognized by the Golden A 'Design Award. I think it will affect the future direction of luxury Baijiu packaging design in terms of cultural story telling and process innovation, and promote the three directions of cultural depth narrative, process integration and sustainable innovation.From symbol stacking to immersive storytelling. Traditional Baijiu packaging mostly relies on single cultural symbols such as dragon patterns and calligraphy to convey a sense of history, but the recognition of the Golden A 'Award will prompt designers to turn to cultural narrative and focus on the unique characteristics of products.In process innovation: from single material to cross-border integration, promote Baijiu packaging to break through the limitations of traditional materials and processes, transform traditional techniques into packaging decoration, and endow packaging collection value.Future design will be more inclined towards "ecological aesthetics" - using biodegradable and renewable materials to deeply link process innovation with sustainable goals, meeting the dual demands of environmental protection and luxury in the luxury market.
Symmetrical aesthetics is based on the central axis and balanced as the rhyme, endowing design with visual weight and presence through a sense of order. Its core lies in "using simplicity to control complexity and static braking".In traditional design, it is reflected in the central axis layout of the Forbidden City or the mirror structure of Ming style furniture, conveying a sense of solemnity with absolute balance. If the central axis is used to unify the spatial function and continue the traditional sense of order; On the other hand, using different design elements from the left and right to break the absolute mirror and activate modern fun through subtle imbalances.This strategy not only avoids the rigid collage of traditional symbols, but also prevents falling into the hollow innovation of formalism. The symmetrical "weight" gives the cultural foundation to the work, while the deconstructive "lightness" allows it to breathe into contemporary life - just as Ming style furniture carries the charm of the Song and Yuan dynasties with simple lines, modern design can also use the symmetrical visual experience to create a modern Eastern aesthetic in classical art.
Dive into a world of design excellence with our curated highlights. Each feature showcases outstanding creativity, innovation, and impact from the design world. Discover inspiration and learn more about these incredible achievements.
