Pastry Gift Box by Kazuo Fukushima

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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

KF : The idea is the gate of a private house from the good old Republic of China era in Shanghai. The scene you see when entering a garden through the gate, which still remains in Shanghai, is the inspiration for this packaging design.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

KF : At that time, Shanghai was seeing an increase in tourists. Therefore, I aimed for a globalized package design for foreigners. I aimed for a modern package design while using Shanghai's traditional architectural style.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

KF : Unfortunately, the project is currently on hold.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

KF : It took one month for strategy and planning, two months for design, and one month from sample production to realization.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

KF : We were thinking about how to make Shanghai's tourist attraction, Yu Garden, famous and came up with the idea of ​​using the architecture of Shanghai's Republic of China era, which blends East and West. We were competing for the idea, but the client decided on us because of this idea.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

KF : Yu Garden has the production rights.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

KF : Because we wanted to achieve a new design that blends East and West.

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

KF : Old Republic of China era in Shanghai.

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

KF : Mainly foreign tourists.

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

KF : Shanghai tourist attraction gift boxes often express a mainly Chinese atmosphere. Yuyuan Garden is a famous tourist spot in Shanghai, but we wanted to create something completely different and new.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

KF : A simple and easy to understand name

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

KF : Adobe illustrator, Photoshop

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

KF : The fact that you added a window frame to the box, making it fun for consumers to open the box

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

KF : Our design team

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

KF : Nothing in particular

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

KF : Gift box analysis of Shanghai, Beijing, and major tourist destinations in China, tourist trends, etc.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

KF : Printing feasibility, strength of three-dimensional objects, number and arrangement of sweets, etc.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

KF : Because we wanted to raise our company's creative and nomination ranking

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

KF : I gained a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and became more confident in communicating with Chinese clients.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

KF : Nothing in particular