Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa by Bojun Tan

Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa by Bojun Tan is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Keleawe in Hoʻolālā Kiʻi, Kiʻi Paʻi a me Kamaʻilio ʻIke Competition Category.

KeleaweKiʻi· 2026

Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa

by Bojun Tan

Client: Agave De Ray

A' Design Award Keleawe Winner in Kiʻi Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa

Hōʻike ʻo Agave De Ray i kahi hoʻolālā hōʻailona kālepa kūpono no kahi mea kūʻai mezcal i hoʻokumu ʻia ma Beijing, e hoʻopili ana i ka hoʻoilina o Oaxaca me ka hoʻokipa o ke kūlanakauhale. Hoʻohana ka papahana i kahi ʻike hiki ke hoʻololi kahi e hoʻopuka ʻia ai nā mea ʻai ma ke ʻano he mau ʻuhane kiaʻi, e hui pū ana i ke kiʻi pāʻani me kahi ʻōnaehana palapala koʻikoʻi. Ma o ke kaulike ʻana i nā ʻano lima me kahi palaka lepo mālie, hoʻokumu ka hoʻolālā i kahi kūlana ʻike kiʻekiʻe no nā ʻuhane boutique, e unuhi ana i ka ʻeleu kupuna no kahi anaina hanohano hou.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Keleawe

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa i ka A' Design Award Keleawe, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui loa i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā kūʻokoʻa i ʻike ʻia ma o ka hana noʻeau, ka akamai a me ka makakoho. He mau hana mākaukau a hana noʻeau kupaianaha nā lanakila Keleawe e hōʻoia ana i ka ʻike nui, ka noʻonoʻo a me ka maʻalea o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa he mea i mahalo nui ʻia, hoʻohiwahiwa ʻia a aloha ʻia, he ʻoihana a hou loa. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Keleawe e hoʻohui ana i nā hana maikaʻi loa o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana, a maikaʻi no kona nānā ʻana i nā kikoʻī. Hoʻokō maikaʻi ka hoʻolālā Agave De Ray ʻAno Hōʻailona Hana: ʻIke Hōʻailona Kālepa i nā pono, hoʻopā i ka makemake, hoʻohiwahiwa i nā manaʻo a huki i ka makemake e ʻike.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Agave de Ray is a mezcal dealer and bar based in Beijing. The project develops a brand architecture that bridges the raw, ancestral character of oaxacan mezcal production with the speakeasy drinking culture of beijing. Anchored by an adaptive visual identity, the system translates traditional agave-related elements into a family of quirky personified spirits. The overall brand identity aims to establish a new model of high-end boutique spirits within an urban drinking context
Dimensions & Packaging: The brand identity is developed as a scalable digital system. Core assets are produced in vector formats (AI, SVG, EPS) and raster outputs (PNG, JPG) for web and print use. A modular 8-column grid grid system and defined clear-space rules ensure consistency across formats. Typography uses Cortese font family with structured hierarchy. Color specifications include RGB, CMYK, and Hex values for cross-media reproduction.
Tags: Adaptive Logo, Changing Logos, Catering, Drinks, Mexican, Characters
Production Technology: To maintain the brand’s Ancestral Grit, I utilized a digital linocut technique to create a high-contrast, tactile aesthetic that mimics traditional woodblock printing. The Adaptive Logo System was engineered for scalability across high-end catering touchpoints, from letterpress coasters on 600gsm cotton stock to copper-foiled bottle labels. The methodology centered on "Visual Governance"–balancing the quirky character illustrations with a rigid, minimalist typographic grid to ensure the brand felt both artisanal and elite.
Design Challenge: The primary challenge was achieving a fine balance between "playful quirk" and "high-end prestige." Internally, I had to balance the owner’s personal namesake with the historical weight of Oaxacan tradition. Externally, the obstacle was avoiding "craft-kitsch" while maintaining artisanal authenticity for the Beijing luxury market. I overcame this by engineering an adaptive logo system that shifts with the spirit, using a rigid minimalist grid to anchor the fluid, hand-drawn characters.
Research: This visual research analyzed the tension between traditional heritage and a luxury market of young drinking culture. Using comparative analysis and mood mapping, I identified a gap between traditional kitsch and luxury. By studying urban drinking rituals and premium spirit packaging, I developed an adaptive identity system, resulting in a series of motif that humanizes the product while maintaining elite status.
Inspiration: Driven by the brand's namesake, the owner, the design personified the agave as a watchful spirit by adding eyes to each element, infusing the identity with a personal, mischievous soul. The research focused on the tension between Oaxacan ancestral grit and Beijing's urban refinement. An adaptive logo system was made to shift with the product line, using a linocut aesthetic and a muted palette to ground the quirky characters in a high end, boutique dealer context.
Project Duration: The project started in January 2023 and finished in January 2026, and was soft-launched online since 2023.
Operation Flow: The brand operates through a "living" visual system where the agave spirits adapt to the user’s journey. At a tasting, the interaction begins with tactile, raw-textured invitations, leading to bottles where the "watchful" characters shift based on the specific spirit. This personification creates an emotional dialogue, making the complex heritage of Mezcal approachable yet elite. By balancing playful characters with rigid, premium materials, the design delivers a more memorable, intuitive, and culturally resonant ritual.