Interview with 2024 Home, Leisure & Other Markets Platinum winner
We speak with Chinese agency Mint Design to learn more about their Platinum award-winning work and their plans for the future
We speak with Chinese agency Mint Design to learn more about their Platinum award-winning work and their plans for the future
Can you tell us something about yourself and the agency?
Mint Design is an innovation-driven design agency rooted in China, focused on exploring new perspectives that bridge humanity, art, and functionality. By observing the nuances of daily life and the cultural essence of spaces, we capture emotions and enrich the depth of objects.
Our core philosophy is "telling stories through design," offering clients comprehensive solutions from brand strategy to visual implementation. Our team consists of designers passionate about merging art and commerce, excelling in using interactive and emotionally resonant design languages to imbue products with unique market competitiveness.
What’s the main area of expertise of your agency? Can you share your journey with design?
Our expertise spans brand design, packaging innovation, spatial visual integration, and experiential design, particularly tailored for cultural and creative industries, artist collaborations, children’s products, and home lifestyle brands. Over Mint Design’s decade-long journey, from crafting visual systems for the Beijing Design Week 751 International Design Festival to full-scope branding for Guancha Tea and the *Matisse’s Journey* series, we’ve consistently embraced a dual focus on "cultural storytelling + user experience." By reimagining packaging structures, experimenting with materials, and employing narrative-driven visuals, we push the boundaries of traditional packaging to create emotional bonds between users and brands. For instance, in *Matisse’s Journey*, we transformed packaging into interactive "magic props" inspired by the storybook, delighting both children and parents.
Matisse's Journey DIY Ornament Kit, 2024 Pentawards Platinum Home, Leisure & Other Markets
Congratulations on winning the Home, Leisure & Other Markets Platinum award this year! Tell us a bit more about the project and what it means to win this award.
We’re honored to receive the Platinum Award. The ‘Matisse’s Journey DIY Ornament Kit’ draws inspiration from the UCCA-curated ‘Matisse’s Matisse’ exhibition and the ‘Matisse’s Journey’ storybook. Matisse, an artist we deeply admire, believed in spreading optimism through vibrant colors and visual joy—values we aimed to share with children. Mimicking the suitcase Matisse carries in the book, we designed a "magic travel case" with elastic handles and a drawer-style structure, allowing kids to unpack materials like treasures and spark creativity.
The award validates our "narrative + experience" approach, with the Pentawards jury praising its "strong emotional connection"—a tremendous encouragement for us.
Can you talk us through the journey of creating unHide’s concept?
We extracted elements from the ‘Matisse’s Journey’ book—Matisse’s figure, landscapes, animals, and objects—to let kids craft their own adventure stories. Bright colors and hand-drawn illustrations echo the book’s whimsy, while retro suitcase-inspired packaging with tactile elastic handles and layered "drawers" invites exploration. The challenge lay in balancing functionality and artistry: simplifying complex 3D structures for children, ensuring safety and durability, and refining details like handle elasticity and weight. For example, we rigorously tested the drawer mechanism to prevent tearing and adjusted handle dimensions for small hands.
Which part of creating the pack did you and the team love the most?
We love crafting the "unboxing ritual." Designing interactions like drawer openings or hand-painted illustrations that unfold like story chapters brings us joy. Iterating from sketches to 3D models and witnessing children’s excitement during testing—this cycle of creation and feedback is deeply rewarding.
Are you currently working on any exciting new projects?
We’re developing a new artist-illustrated storybook and its derivative products, centered around playful explorations of language and symbols—a literal "word game."
What do you love most about designing and the design community?
Design’s interdisciplinary nature and societal impact inspire us—it’s not just aesthetics but a tool for solving problems. Sustainable innovations like edible packaging (This Way Up) or Woola’s wool-based solutions highlight how design drives environmental change. The community’s openness and diversity foster global creativity, propelling collective progress.
What is your message to young designers or students who are entering the design world?
Stay curious and experimental. Engage with social issues, embrace technology and sustainability. Future design will balance innovation with eco-consciousness.
Finally, where do you see the agency heading to next? What is the future of Mint Brand Design?
We’ll focus on technology and sustainable design, exploring cultural narratives and material recycling. Mint aims to collaborate with influential fashion and cultural brands, applying our "narrative + experience" philosophy to connect ideas and communities. We strive to articulate clarity amid complexity and "link" all things through design.