Concepts We Wish Were Real

Let's kick-off the weekend with a brand-new collection of Concepts We Wish Were Real. Our weekly picks of the best student and concept work.

MADAME QUOI

Student

Madame Quoi is a gourmet bakery inspired by the dramatic French story of Henriette Calliaux. Calliaux was a Parisian socialite and wife of the Prime Minister of France at the time that she walked into a newspaper office and killed the editor for fear of him releasing a scandalous letter. Cynthia Fernández and Sofia Villarreal developed the branding and packaging for Madame Quoi, reflecting chaos and an explosion of emotions.

"This misalignment of emotions is reflected throughout the use of experimental textures, created after some key moments and phrases of this story; this way a graphic language for the brand is settled which lives through the different packaging creating a distinctive, modern and unique brand system."

With Henriette Calliaux as its muse, Madame Quoi mixes beautiful, delicate elements with more out of control ones. The pastel pink reflects Calliaux’s socialite status, as well as remind us that most women in that time were regarded as dainty and feminine beings. Smears of black and uneven patterns capture the darker side of the story, giving Madame Quoi a lovely yet tumultuous appearance. Even the combination of fonts—a traditional serif font and a handwritten one—reflect the two sides of this one woman. Product boxes are sealed with pink and black tape that’s been torn (rather than cut cleanly) on the ends, further emphasizing the juxtaposition between beauty and chaos. 

Designed by Cynthia Fernández, Sofia Villarreal

Country: Mexico

RESONANCE

Concept

How do your drinks make you feel? Lucas Wakamatsu created the concept Resonance to illustrate how the fictional drink would make you feel, right on the can itself. The cans feature bold colors and trippy designs that give consumers a sense of each one. The characters and environment depicted on the cans leave things up to interpretation, allowing the consumer to project their own experiences onto the illustrations. This makes it a more personal experience that goes well beyond just quenching thirst. 

"Resonance is the result of something I was willing to do for a long time—I had this wish to design illustrations to get printed in a soda can. The idea was to put together sensations a fictional drink would cause and translate them to my illustrations. The colorful forms in each one represent the beverage, pulsing in different vibes, being shaped by different frequencies. This project was a good exercise and I could notice how 3D models and my illustrations connected to each other on the final result, as well as in the process."

Designed by Lucas Wakamatsu 

Country: Brazil

GLUP!

Student

Kids don’t care if the juice they drink is all natural—they just want it to be fun and taste great. With Rodrigo Cordeiro’s concept for Glup!, parents could serve 100% natural juices and their kids would have four goofy characters to love.

Glup! needs to appeal to both parents and kids. A tan background and images of the fresh fruits speak to the natural ingredients, while the silly characters on the front each have a unique personality. The juices come in boxes that are convenient for on-the-go and can be flattened when done or easily recycled. Cordeiro created a hand-lettered logo, further emphasizing the wholesome ingredients and giving the juices a casual vibe that kids will enjoy.

Designed by Rodrigo Cordeiro

Country: United States

SEA JEWEL

Concept

Luxury products create a feeling of desire and exclusivity, much like this caviar delicacy. Sea Jewel is a concept that Agência BUD developed, wanting to create a sophisticated packaging that would also express the premium ingredients inside.

"Sea jewel—premium black caspian caviar—had the identity created through ingredient purity. Design to associate clean that compose packaging, translating the complexity of this delicacy." 

Sea Jewel is a premium product, and even just having the word “jewel” in the brand name reminds us what a luxury caviar is. Its crisp white container speaks to the purity of the caviar, while the handwritten font in the name speaks to the care that goes into crafting the food. An outline of a fish in the background adds movement and color to the packaging, almost like you’re looking down into the ocean and seeing it swim by. On the top of the lid, the logo of a dark circle and the swimming fish appears, resembling the shape of the actual product.

Designed by Agência BUD 

Country: Brazil

KIRIN Beer

Concept

The United States has PBR, Belgium has Stella Artois, and Japan has KIRIN. This beer has been the country’s best-selling beer for over a century, and Radmir Volk developed a concept to honor the beer’s history and roots.

"A little bit about beer - KIRIN:• This is the first Japanese beer that is produced since 1888. This is the most historic beer in Japan, with 127 years of history.• KIRIN uses the 'mythical beast' a legendary animal as the main symbol of the East.•Characteristic feature is its rich, full-bodied and bitter taste. This is done via the hops as this beer taste.• As a result, it was the best selling beer in Japan for 100 years of its existence, and became the beer that represents Japan."

The red disc on the label is the same as the national flag of Japan and represents the sun. Keeping the label minimal and clean allows the symbol and the text to stand out, and the brand utilizes purposeful lines and angles from blocks of color to create an impressive look. 

Designed by Radmir Volk 

Country: Russia

TeaTox

Student

The conceptual packaging of Teatox designed by Evelyn Tran beautifully balances typography with illustrations - and the bitonal contrast delivers uniformity and balance. “Teatox is a visually poetic interpretation of various blends of herbal and medicinal teas. It is a contemporary take on the visual language of the famous artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who was greatly known throughout history for his imaginative style which incorporates a rather intelligent use of double imagery, and later influenced the works of Surrealist artists. This projects gives light to the fusion of ingredients within each tea mix, portraying them as vital elements for a natural body detox and a healthier lifestyle.”Striking an emotional chord with the consumers - the packaging and brand identity bring art to our everyday lives.

Designed by Evelyn Tran

Country: Australia