Bronze Packaging Design · 2025
Su Jiu Dong Po Baijiu Packaging
by Liandong Zhang and Xueqian Zhang
- A' Design Award 2025 Bronze Winner in Packaging Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Jiangsu Shuanggou Distillery Co., Ltd
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 13,115
- Verification code 0390A8D4BF · Verify this award
About Su Jiu Dong Po Baijiu Packaging
Su Jiu Dong Po is a set of four liquor bottles inspired by the poetry and life of the poet Su Shi. Each bottle represents one stage of the poet's life, from an exuberant youth to a free spirited later age. The bottles are made of a glass-crystalline white material and follow the streamlined meiping plum vase form, with a narrowed mouth and a full body that recalls Song dynasty porcelain. The outer surface is carved in relief, and the texture shifts from dense to sparse to suggest the flow of a river. Poetic imagery is turned into a visual and tactile experience.
Heijie He's Baijiu Packaging emerges from rich traditions of ceremonial vessel design, where containment becomes canvas and functional object transforms into cultural artifact worthy of contemplation beyond mere utility, the work engaging heritage vocabularies of decorative liquor bottles while demonstrating notable contemporary material sophistication and technical refinement in its execution, the oval form itself carrying historical resonance within vessel typologies, its swelling central volume and flared collar suggesting lineages extending through centuries of refined container design for precious liquids, the decision to create a transparent pictorial window within the metallic framework represents compositional intelligence, establishing a jewel-like focal zone that captures and refracts light while providing narrative and symbolic content that rewards close examination, the chromatic achievement evident in the seamless gradations across the translucent central panel demonstrates considerable technical facility, whether executed through embedded imagery, surface printing with transparent inks, or layered material construction, the transitions from cool cerulean through turquoise into warm coral and amber suggest either masterful color specification or sophisticated material layering that produces atmospheric depth within shallow physical space, the wave motif rendered in swirling blues and whites operates within established iconographic traditions while achieving fresh visual vitality through the fluidity of execution and integration with the warmer chromatic environment, the solitary figure positioned within the aqueous flow invites interpretation as contemplative presence, perhaps evoking literary or philosophical traditions of the scholar finding wisdom in natural observation, the crane forms if accurately identified carry associations with longevity, good fortune, and elevated spiritual aspiration across cultural symbolic systems, the central calligraphic medallion grounds the composition both visually and semantically, providing textual specificity that anchors the more abstract atmospheric passages surrounding it, the warm metallic gold framework demonstrates restraint and sophistication, allowing the pictorial content to command primary attention while providing luxurious material presence appropriate to premium market positioning, the overall integration of traditional motifs with contemporary material technology and refined minimalist framing suggests design intelligence that honors heritage while achieving thoroughly current aesthetic resolution, how might one's understanding of contained spirits deepen when the container itself offers layered transparencies revealing journeys through elemental landscapes, when the vessel becomes threshold between material craft and poetic narrative, when traditional wisdom finds expression through contemporary material refinement.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Taking Su Shi's poems as the connection, combining his life experiences allows users to appreciate the spirit of Dongpo and the literary ambiance while savoring the liquor. The imagery depicted on the bottle resonates closely with the poem, utilizing a blend of ink and modern techniques. This transformation of poetic imagery into visual language creates an immersive experience that distinguishes it from products that merely symbolize references to traditional culture.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 300mmX120mmX420mm
- Tags
- The great river runs east, Su Shi's poetic rhythm, Song dynasty porcelain aesthetics, Inner painted landscapes, Red cliff imagery, Joint cultural creations, Poetry and liquor
- Production Technology
- The material is a glass-crystalline white substance, and the four bottles share a cohesive design inspired by the streamlined meiping plum vase style. Each bottle features a slightly narrowed mouth and a full belly, evoking the aesthetics of Song dynasty porcelain, characterized by a in a subtle way. The outer surface of the bottles is intricately carved in relief, with the texture transitioning from detailed to sparse, simulating the dynamic flow of a river, from calm to rushing, and providing a distinctive tactile experience.
- Design Challenge
- By reviewing a large amount of literature, we extracted the classic poems of the historical poet Su Shi and the four stages of his life to establish a correlation. The portrayal of Su Shi's image had been criticized as review of the illustrations and texts to rectify the details of his attire, such as the straw raincoat and clothing style. Additionally, the depth of the embossing on the liquor bottle needed to adhere to food safety standards, prompting the design team to adjust the slope of the wavy pattern to mitigate compliance risks.
- Project Duration
- 2024.5-2025.1 Nanjing, Jiangsu province
- Operation Flow
- By reconstructing the spirit of Su Shi through a contemporary art style, the design team merges the narrative of drama with the static beauty of a liquor container, creating a product that offers a “sense of theater that can be both observed and touched,” thereby appealing to cultural consumers. The overall design of the bottle incorporates elements of poetry, ink painting, and relief craftsmanship, allowing customers to experience the dynamic interplay of “liquor activating poetry and painting” through its translucent imagery as they savor the liquor. This approach facilitates a multi-dimensional experience of “ tasting the liquor, enjoying the poetry, appreciating the paintings, and gaining a deeper understanding of the context.”
- Research
- Focusing on cultural transformation and craft innovation, this project centers on the poetry of Su Shi and theatrical elements. It has designed a series of mass-produced cultural liquor bottles inspired by Su Shi's works, achieving a harmonious blend of cultural narration, craft innovation, and user experience. After an in-depth study of Su Shi's poems, biographies, and the aesthetic literature of the Song dynasty, the designer distilled key imagery, such as the Red Cliff, the river waves, and the scrolls, and took charge of the image composition and bottle modeling. The four bottles effectively transform the essence of the poems into translucent representations.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by the artistic interpretation of Su Shi's heroic life in the theatrical production of the same name, this product features four bottles, each representing a distinct stage of Su Shi's life from an exuberant youth to free spirited twilight. Through a harmonious blend of poetry, painting, and craftsmanship, the spirit of Dongpo is condensed both within and outside the bottle. This innovative interpretation merges traditional culture with a contemporary understanding of the spirit of literature and brewing.
- Image Credits
- Jiangsu Shuanggou Distillery Co., Ltd
Colors of Su Jiu Dong Po Baijiu Packaging
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