Bluetiful Design has recently won the 2022 GDUSA | American Package Design Award for its work with Volition Tea.

GDUSA’s annual design competition has been around for 59 years. They recognize design excellence in the community. Their annual package design awards celebrate well-designed graphics of course, but also the power of design to tell the story, advance the brand and make a difference.

Volition Tea was born because they see a need to amplify the voice of tea farmers who have fought the high-yield mindset and usage of chemical pesticides. The farmers care deeply about the sustainability of their soil and plants, so Volition Tea wants to create a platform to celebrate them and their teas. What’s more, every purchase customers make is a validation of their volition to do the right thing.

After undergoing a strategy workshop, we defined the purpose, mission, vision, values, and how to position Volition Tea in the market. Our insights revealed that consumers wanted to know the origin of their teas, who grew them, what region are they from, and when it is processed. We wanted full transparency to our customers and to feature the farmers and their stories on the tea labels and tea cards.

There are two goals that Volition Tea has for its packaging: environmentally friendly and sourced locally whenever possible. When it comes to developing the design of the packaging, we created a clean and bold look that reflects Volition Tea’s personality and its Chicago pride. To create a visual connection, we use topographic elements to align with the organic nature of tea farms in China.

All packagings are recyclable, and they recommend customers reuse them before recycling. The prints and labels are produced with local shops to support another small business and cut down on carbon footprints.