Shade Matcha
Luxury matcha, shade-grown in Japan
Branding | Packaging Design | Visualization
Introducing Shade, a luxury matcha brand that highlights the most important aspect of the tea’s growth process—that it is grown in the shade. The shade-grown process is what gives the tea its optimal taste and vibrant green hue. Our goal was to honor this unique growth story, so we designed a matcha brand that interprets it in a modern and captivating way. This was the basis of the brand’s entire identity and visual language, from the Shade brand name, symbol, colors, and material selection, to the visual styling of the products.
The history
Japanese tradition meets mainstream culture
The history of matcha dates back to the 8th century. It originated in China and was adopted by the Japanese. Since then, its consumption has become a ritual that is intrinsically linked to Japanese culture & tradition. In recent years, matcha has gained extreme popularity in Western culture. Breaking away from the tradition, matcha is constantly being reinvented and reinterpreted in modern ways to appeal to new audiences.
Our process
The design of the Shade brand revolves around the shadow of the matcha leaf. The shadow is a key part of the design language, informing every decision that was made. Using contrast, blurring and transparency, we played with layers of depth and explored various ways the shadow could come to life.
Moodboard
Graphic Exploration + 3D Prototyping
Brand System
We developed a brand system and CMF palette that would be both focused yet flexible in its use, giving a strong brand language that stays fresh with each new product addition to the Shade family. We used warm earth tones and contrasted them against frosted glass, copper and concrete for an authentic, yet contemporary aesthetic.
It was important that we found fresh ways of incorporating these explorations into the packaging to create a cohesive, yet dynamic line of Shade products. Each product has its own unique feel, but remains tied together with the other products through the use of the leaf.
