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Ma Lan's Zhanlu Tea Brand Design presents a sophisticated packaging composition dominated by crisp white grounds activated through strategic deployment of spring-fresh chartreuse yellow-green and…

Zhanlu Tea Brand Design by Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Bronze A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Competition Category.


BronzeGraphic· 2026

Zhanlu Tea Brand Design

by Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts

Client: Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts

Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Graphic Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #182018

Colors

The Design

About Zhanlu Tea Brand Design

Zhanlu is a brand and packaging design for a herbal tea created for the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor. The concept draws on the image of morning dew in classical Chinese poetry, suggesting purity and light nourishment. The blend combines monk fruit, licorice, ophiopogon, raspberry, and Solomon's seal, following the traditional principle that sour and sweet flavors together help generate moisture. Each 5 g tea bag is sealed in a moisture proof sachet. Coated paperboard cartons use offset printing and hot stamping with Han inspired graphics.

The Recognition

About the Bronze A' Design Award

Zhanlu Tea Brand Design 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. Zhanlu Tea Brand Design 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. Zhanlu Tea Brand Design splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.

Interviews

Design Interview

What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

The entire design of Zhanlu Tea adheres to the core concepts of "classical literature conveying charm, ancient forms narrating stories, and gentle nourishment for the heart," following three design principles: cultural origin, scene adaptability, and contemporary aesthetics. The design inspiration comes from the classical literary tradition of the *Classic of Poetry*, the profound ancestral culture of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, and the natural beauty of ancient cypress trees. It also relies on the traditional Chinese medicine wisdom of "sour and sweet transforming into yin" to build the product's cultural foundation. The visual creation uses Han Dynasty portrait stone art as the core narrative carrier, extracting the simple, solemn, and elegant visual language of the Han style. I hope to create a cultural tourism tea brand design that combines ancient poetic charm, cultural heritage, and a modern, gentle lifestyle by connecting literary classics, traditional health culture, and ancestral worship scenes.

What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

In this design, I focused on the seamless integration of cultural imagery, product attributes, and cultural tourism scenarios, balancing classical atmosphere with modern aesthetics, and health-preserving connotations with visual expression. I emphasized the accurate reproduction of the visual essence of Han Dynasty stone carvings, the subtle expression of the poetic atmosphere of the *Classic of Poetry*, and the gentle, soothing character of the lightly nourishing tea beverage. The core design objective is to break away from the industry problems of homogenization, superficiality, and lack of cultural depth in traditional cultural tourism tea beverage packaging. The goal is to transform packaging from a simple product container into a vehicle for disseminating the ancestral culture of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, the literary culture of the *Classic of Poetry*, and traditional health-preserving culture, allowing tourists to engage in a gentle dialogue with traditional Chinese culture through their drinking experience, enriching their journey with a warm and culturally enriching experience.

What are your future plans for this award winning design?

In the future, I will continue to improve the complete visual system of the "Zhanlu" brand, extending the series of tea beverage packaging, cultural and creative products, offline brand visual displays, and cultural tourism derivative designs to build a systematic and unified ancient-style cultural tourism brand IP. Simultaneously, leveraging the cultural tourism resources of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Scenic Area, I will promote the implementation of designs in diverse scenarios such as public displays within the scenic area, sales of cultural tourism souvenirs, and cultural theme activities, continuously amplifying the brand's cultural influence. I will also iterate on packaging details and visual presentation based on market feedback, deepening the brand label of "Poetry Classic Lineage + Han Dynasty Aesthetics + Light Health Concept," making Zhanlu a highly representative cultural tourism tea beverage benchmark for the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum.

Read the Full Interview

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Zhanlu is inspired by the idea of light nourishment and the purity of morning dew. Created for the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, it blends monk fruit, licorice, ophiopogon, raspberry, and Solomons seal, following the traditional principle that sour and sweet together help generate moisture. Warm, gentle, and balanced, it offers visitors a moment of natural comfort and a quiet connection to ancient wisdom.
Dimensions & Packaging
Each bag contains 5 g of blended herbs, with 50 g per box. Individual sachets are sealed in moisture proof laminated film to ensure freshness and hygiene. Packaging includes a coated paperboard carton and a premium rigid gift box with specialty paper wrapping and inner tray. Suitable for hot water brewing, one sachet per cup. Store in a cool, dry place.
Tags
Light Nourishment, Herbal Tea, Moisturizing Formula, Brand Design
Production Technology
Zhanlu is made with selected herbs that are cleaned, low temperature dried, and finely cut to preserve aroma and quality. The blend is packed into 5 g food grade tea bags and sealed in moisture proof sachets. Cartons and rigid gift boxes use coated paperboard with offset printing and hot stamping to present refined Han inspired graphics.
Design Challenge
The challenge was translating traditional wellness philosophy into a contemporary product without losing cultural depth. Rooted in classical theory, the concept had to remain clear and appealing to modern users. The key was balancing herbal efficacy, taste, symbolism, and packaging in one refined and coherent design.
Research
This project explores how traditional Chinese wellness philosophy can be translated into contemporary cultural product design. Based on the principle that sour and sweet flavors generate moisture, the formula blends monk fruit, licorice, polygonatum, ophiopogon, and raspberry to support gentle hydration. Inspired by classical poetry and Han aesthetics, the packaging reinterprets traditional symbolism in a modern tea product, linking heritage, health, and mindful self care.
Inspiration
The inspiration for Zhanlu comes from the image of morning dew in ancient Chinese poetry, pure, quiet, and life giving. It draws from the sacred atmosphere of the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, especially the ancient cypress trees that have endured for millennia. The concept of light nourishment and the traditional principle that sour and sweet create moisture shaped the formula, expressing harmony between nature, heritage, and gentle self care.
Project Duration
The project was completed on February 18, 2026. The client is based in the Yangtze River Delta region of China. Concept development, herbal formulation research, and packaging design were carried out in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China. The project integrates regional cultural resources with contemporary design practice, bridging eastern market demand and northwestern cultural heritage context.
Operation Flow
Open the outer carton or gift box and remove one individually sealed sachet. Tear open the moisture proof wrapper and place one 5 g tea bag into a cup. Add approximately 250 to 300 ml of hot water and steep for 3 to 5 minutes. The tea gradually releases a gentle sweetness and light herbal aroma.

After touring the mausoleum, visitors hold the warm cup, pause, and sip slowly. The interaction is simple and intuitive, open, brew, inhale, taste, creating a quiet ritual that connects body, breath, and cultural memory in a brief moment of nourishment.
Patents
Copyrights belong to Ma Lan, Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, 2026.

Packaging structure design patent pending. Patent Holder: Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts. 2026. China.

Visual system and illustration artworks are protected under applicable copyright laws.
Team Members
Lan Ma
Guangyi Tang
Yinghua Wang
Lianfa Xu
Wanhui Huang
Zhifei Fu
Shunfeng Zhang
Jinyuan Zhang
Image Credits
Image #1: Designers Ma Lan and Tang Guangyi (Product Designer / Visual Designer), Zhanlu Sweet and Moisturizing Tea Main Packaging, 2026.

Image #2: Designers Wang Yinghua, Jinyuan Zhang, Shunfeng Zhang and Huang Wanhui (Illustrator / Graphic Designer), Botanical and Han Inspired Illustration Series, 2026.

Image #3: Designers Xu Lianfa and Tang Guangyi (Packaging Engineer / Visual Designer), Light Luxury Gift Box Structure and Visual System, 2026.

Image #4: Designers Ma Lan, Wang Yinghua and Huang Wanhui (Product Designer / Illustrator / Graphic Designer), Ingredient Visualization and Cultural Motif Development, 2026.

Image #5: Designers Ma Lan, Tang Guangyi, Xu Lianfa and Zhifei Fu (Product Designer / Visual Designer / Packaging Engineer / Design Coordination), Integrated Packaging and Structural Realization, 2026.

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