Ajiwau
Ajiwau is a brand that specializes in Japanese sauces. Their name translates
to “savour” in English, meaning they make savory sauces that adds a little zest
to your favorite traditional Japanese meals. Their goal is to create an easy
shopping experience for those enjoying Japanese cuisines at home.
Packaging Design | Fall 2020
INITIAL SKETCHES FOR LABEL
Process
The desired tone for Ajiwau sauces bottles is to be traditional
but still unique. This tone helps to reach the target audience of individuals interested in expanding their cuisines, and sushi
lovers. The product intends to look inviting and affordable for customers. This ethnic inclusive design makes customers feel
like they are diving into a new culture directly from their home.
The first label made depicts a city skyline of Tokyo, Japan.
There are many prominent buildings in Tokyo that are featured
to make the city recognizable.
Problem
Design a series of labels for three flavors of condiments or beverages while having an ethnically authentic feel and appealing to a broader market than consumers from that culture.
Approach
In order to create a Japanese inspired brand that appeals to other cultures, research was a must. It started with visual inventory of other sauce bottles that would be the competitors. This helped to narrow down the most common looks for condiments. There was also a visual inventory of the Japanese culture. To the left there is a mood board that was created including various aspects such as architecture, sculpture, typography, cuisines, and paintings. Creating the mood board helped to narrow down a desired tone as the initial thumbnail sketching process began.
Hangtag
The cities Sapporo and Fukuoka were added so each flavor showcases a different city in Japan. By using different cities,
the labels become more unique and include a broader range
of Japan. Featuring multiple cities proved to be challenging for cultures that aren't aware of the Japanese landscape. To eliminate any confusion for those unfamiliar, a hangtag detailing a map of Japan and the featured cities was included. In addition, this hangtag explains the meaning of the brand name Ajiwau.
This was an important element to make the packaging
ethnic inclusive for everyone.
Each label showcases a skyline that was hand crafted using prominent buidlings within the correlated city. Research was done to pick buildings that are the most memorable in each city.
