Hei Hu Hall Packaging per incenso

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Parting from the traditional sales mode found in a factory, the business changes to a self-owned brand, releasing twelve special package designs, based on five auspicious beasts in the religious belief in Taiwan. There are three series in the package—Worship to Gods, Memorial to Ancestors, and Taste of Incense. By fusing arts into traditional Taiwanese incense products, we hope to folster people’s understanding of Taiwanese auspicious culture.

Dimensions & Packaging

Worship to Gods Series L6.5*W5.5*H49.5cm (Incense Stick), L14.5*W14.5*H5cm (Incense Coil); Memorial to Ancestors Series L6.5*W5.5*H39.5cm (Incense Stick); Taste of Incense Series L3*W2.7*H22.7cm (Lying down Incense), L16.7*W8*H4.5cm (Small Incense Coil)

Tags

Taiwan, Hei Hu Hall Incense, Taiwanese culture, Wu Xing, Five Auspicious Animals of Ancient China, Book of Changes, I Ching, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism

Production Technology

We are good at using emblems to embody the meanings in Taiwanese culture. On the package, one can see combination of symbolic emblems and unique auspicious symbols. With a variety of box dimensions and their inner contents, each box implies the blessing of religious culture in Taiwan.

Design Challenge

Our challenges is to deeply folster the native industry and the religious belief culture. We infuse new artistic form and designs into the package and attract the young generation to get involved with this traditional industry in Taiwan.

Research

We studied into the cultural trace of the hundred-year religious beliefs in Taiwan, covering from the Chinese cultural classic Book of Change, a variety of decorations of folk temples in Taiwan, to varied auspicious folk blessing catchphrases over the past century. In addition to the worship of the five auspicious beasts, the ancient ancestors believe in the varied auspicious symbols. For example, the vase frequently appears in the painting of ancient artists. The Chinese word “vase” carries a homophone with the word “peace” and therefore is regarded as a symbol of peace. In temples or folk arts, the Diospyros Kaki often appears to embody the message “Everything goes well,” because the word “Diospyros Kaki” carries a homophone with the word “things” in Chinese characters. The ancient ancestors call spiders as “happy spiders”. When encountering a spider hanging from a web silk, it means “Happiness comes from the heaven.” Inspired by these blessing phrases, we infuse these elements into the package and pass down the cultural knowledge.

Inspiration

The design of the incense package was inspired by the ancient auspicious beasts found in traditional temples in Taiwan—including the Kylin (a hooved chimeric creature), the Chinese Phoenix, the Spirit Turtle, the Dragon and the White Tiger—together with catchphrases of folklore blessings. The artwork adopts the designs of abstract lines and geometrical characters. When combined together, the artwork forges a unique pattern that is very different from the traditional incense packaging. Creating a new image for the traditional industry, we expect to foster the culture of religious beliefs in Taiwan and help the young to change the stereotype of this traditional industry.

Project Duration

The project started in May 2021 and finished in September 2022 in Taiwan Changhua.

Operation Flow

Hei Hu Hall Incense comes from a factory in Changhua, Taiwan. Over 30 years of establishment, the industry has been facing competing pressure from online markets and chosen to transfer into a private-owned brand and continue to cultivate the culture of religious belief.