Press Release
Rock Rhyme Tea Gift by Yu Hsin Tseng Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Packaging Design
Yu Hsin Tseng honored for packaging design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 24, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Rock Rhyme Tea Gift by Yu Hsin Tseng has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Packaging Design category. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Bronze A' Design Award Means
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Rock Rhyme Tea Gift
Rock Rhyme Tea is a packaging design for Wuyi Rock Tea, a Chinese oolong tea. The design is inspired by tea plants growing in cliff crevices. Rock grey textures are combined with Song Dynasty woodblock elements and modern brushstrokes. The set includes tea canisters, a cold-brew bottle series and a booklet that explains the twelve-step traditional craft. Lightweight materials imitate the look of real rock, while inner canisters use moisture-proof and light-blocking materials. Hand-woven hemp rope carriers recall twisted tea leaves. The packaging suits both home storage and travel.
About Yu Hsin Tseng
RockRhyme Design is an innovative creative collective from Taiwan specializing in contemporary brand identity and strategic packaging systems. The studio focuses on bridging the gap between traditional heritage and the expectations of the new generation through youthful, forward-thinking design languages. By integrating modern aesthetics with cultural values, the team creates relevant and accessible consumer experiences for global markets. Their practice is characterized by a commitment to revitalizing classical elements through a minimalist and functional approach, aiming to foster deeper social resonance between history and the digital age.
Award Record
With this recognition, Yu Hsin Tseng is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Packaging Design Award
The A' Packaging Design Award is an international packaging competition that recognizes outstanding packaging designs by talented packaging designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to packaging designers, graphic designers, branding agencies and product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include bottles, boxes, cans, pouches, tubes and cartons. The awarded packaging designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/packaging
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/183194
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/183194
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!183194
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/381440
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://8t3.net/1019
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Rock Rhyme Tea Gift
- Function
- Gift
- Category
- Packaging Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Packaging & Retail, Branding & Advertising and Manufacturing
- Colors
- Gray, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Light Slate Gray and Black
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yu Hsin Tseng
- Country
- Taiwan (China)
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #183194
Credits
- Team
- Chih Shan Huang, Yung Chia Wang, Ling An Huang and Esther Leau
- Image Credits
- Photographer Esther Leau, Rockrhyme Tea, 2026.; Photographer Yu Hsin Tseng, Rockrhyme Tea, 2026.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This project reinterprets Wuyi Rock Tea through youthful packaging. Inspired by tea growing in cliff crevices, the design combines "rock gray" textures with Song Dynasty woodblock elements and modern brushstrokes. This fusion transforms traditional high-end tea into a trendy brand, bridging generations. The set includes tea canisters and a booklet detailing the "12-step craft." The concept extends to a refreshing cold-brew series, offering modern consumers a diverse drinking experience.
- Inspiration
- This project is inspired by Rock Tea growing in cliff crevices. As a type of Chinese Oolong tea, our goal is to attract young consumers through youthful packaging, bridging the gap between tea culture and the new generation. Based on research into the 12-step traditional craft and modern tea trends, we transformed rugged rock textures into a contemporary gift experience for the youth market.
- Research
- This research employs a multi-dimensional approach to cultural and market repositioning. By analyzing the 12-step traditional tea-making process alongside semi-structured interviews with a 20-person youth demographic, we identified a significant generational aesthetic gap. Our findings revealed that 85% of target users desired a fusion of historical heritage and modern convenience. Consequently, this project strategically utilizes sensory innovation and youthful visual languages to transform an ancient cultural asset into a commercially viable, high-growth lifestyle product for the global market.
- Challenge
- To move away from traditional tea canister designs, we challenged ourselves to make the packaging look like real rocks while overcoming mass production limits. We used lightweight materials to achieve this heavy stone appearance. Additionally, we had to ensure that the hand-woven hemp rope carriers were functional and strong enough for daily use.
- Realization and Technology
- The gift boxes and tea canisters are made from lightweight materials that simulate the appearance of real rock. To preserve the tea, the inner canisters and cold-brew bottles use moisture-proof and light-blocking materials. For the carriers, we hand-wove hemp ropes to mimic the twisted texture of traditional rock tea leaves. This design combines traditional handcraft with modern material technology to ensure both aesthetics and functionality.
- Operation and Interaction
- The gift set uses a simple top-and-bottom lid structure. To access the tea, users lift the main cover to find two large canisters for long-term storage and one small canister for single-use outdoor brewing. All tea canisters feature sealed lids that are opened by pulling the top cover. For immediate drinking, the cold-brew series uses a standard twist-cap bottle. This design allows users to easily switch between home storage and on-the-go convenience.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in December 2025 in Taiwan and finished in March 2026 in Taiwan, and was exhibited in Young Designers' Exhibition (YODEX) in May 2026 in Taiwan.
- Specifications
- Large Gift Box: 295 mm x 170 mm x 110 mm Travel Set Box: 67 mm x 57 mm x 215 mm Large Tea Canister: 75 mm x 75 mm x 100 mm Travel Tea Canister: 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm Cold Brew Bottle: 62 mm x 62 mm x 163 mm Booklet: 113 mm x 30 mm x 198 mm
- Keywords
- Rock, Rock Tea, Packaging, Gift, Gen Z, Chinese
