Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey by Inna Kovalenko is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Bronze A' Design Award in Packaging Design Competition Category.
BronzePackaging· 2025
Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey
Client: Kyiv Academy of Applied Arts
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Packaging Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #168736The Design
About Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey
Castanea Nectar is a packaging design for chestnut honey. A watercolor illustration technique conveys the lightness of chestnut flowers and leaves. The logo uses smooth, slightly viscous lines to suggest the density and richness of chestnut honey, while strict shapes recall the strength of the chestnut tree. A small bee connects the elements of the logo. The honey is presented in a 250 gram glass jar with a label of 125 by 55 millimeters, placed in a box of 85 by 85 by 110 millimeters. The design refers to the chestnut tree as a green symbol of Kyiv.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Where to Get It
Brand Identity and Packaging Design Services
We create distinctive brand identities that connect with your audience. With two decades of experience designing for major retailers including AUCHAN and METRO, we specialize in logos, packaging, and visual systems that elevate your brand. From concept to execution, we deliver designs that tell your story.
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Grand Interview
Your innovative watercolor illustration technique in Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey beautifully captures the essence of Kyiv's chestnuts - could you share the creative journey that led to this distinctive visual approach?
I love combining watercolor with fine black ink lines. Watercolor conveys softness and transparency, while lines add graphic precision. This duo creates harmony between spontaneous color and structured form. Since art school and university, I combined these techniques, which shaped my unique approach in Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey, expressing both the delicacy of nature and the structured beauty of design.
The symbolism in Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey's logo design, from the viscous lines representing honey to the strict shapes reflecting the chestnut tree's resilience, is remarkably thoughtful - how did you develop these meaningful design elements to tell the story of both the product and the city?
Each logo element carries meaning: flowing lines symbolize thick, rich honey, while geometric forms represent the chestnut tree’s strength. The small bee unites the product and Kyiv’s spirit. The process was experimental and poetic; I refined lines and shapes until balance emerged between lightness and structure, natural and graphic, so the logo tells both the product’s story and the city’s essence.
As Castanea Nectar Chestnut Honey earned recognition with a Bronze A' Design Award in Packaging Design, how did you balance the challenge of creating a gift packaging that conveys both exclusivity and natural authenticity?
I aimed to create simple, familiar packaging that conveys warmth and nature. Delicate watercolor, fine lines, and geometric forms balance the honey’s authenticity with premium gift presentation. This packaging is easy to perceive, evokes emotional connection, and highlights the product’s value and uniqueness.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- For the visual part of the brand, a watercolor illustration technique was chosen to convey the lightness of flowers and leaves. The logo, with its smooth, slightly viscous lines, symbolizes the density and richness of chestnut honey, while the strict shapes hint at the strength and resilience of the tree itself. A small bee, diligently creating this golden treasure, became the connecting element of the logo. The process of creating the brand was not only creative but also deeply symbolic. It was important to preserve the spirit of the city, its history, and its modern dynamics, while giving the world something truly unique.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The diameter of a 250-gram glass jar is 70–80 mm..
Label size: 125×55 mm.
Box size: 85×85×110 mm. - Tags
- Logo, gift, pattern, organic product
- Production Technology
- The logo was created in a vector program Illustrator, graphic elements and mockups in Photoshop
- Design Challenge
- The creative task in creating a gift with chestnut honey was, first, to develop a unique product that would highlight its naturalness and exclusivity; second, to select design elements that reflect the taste and aroma of chestnut honey; and third, to create a harmonious combination of color, shape, and fonts that would make the gift not only attractive but also memorable.
- Research
- The research involved analyzing the honey market and its unique flavor properties. The task was to come up with a concise name that resonates with the project and ideas for its implementation. This included searching for references and mockups for the work.
- Inspiration
- The chestnut tree has long been a green symbol of Kyiv. In spring, one can endlessly admire its white and pink candle-like blossoms, and in autumn, delight in gathering its shiny, lacquered fruits. Few in the world produce honey from chestnut flowers. This uniqueness inspired the creators of the brand to craft a truly special product.
Every detail — from the name to the label design — was carefully thought out to create a sense of comfort, warmth, and a return home. Thus, chestnut honey became not just a product, but a piece of Kyiv, offering sweet memories and a chance to feel spring again, no matter where you are. - Project Duration
- The idea started to take shape at the end of January 2025. In early February 2025, a market and competitor analysis was conducted. The selection of references and sketching of logo options took three days. Logo development took one day. The search for mockups and design rendering took three days.
- Operation Flow
- A gift with chestnut honey is suitable both for a loved one and a business partner. It tells a story of nature, the city, and the craftsmanship invested in its creation.
Thus, chestnut honey is a meaningful gift that brings warmth, health, and a piece of the Ukrainian soul. - Image Credits
- Implementation, idea, design Inna Kovalenko
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