Hasta La Ideas

Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Designer: Mint – Maja Matas, Kresimir Miloloza, Jozo Matas
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Category: Never Saw the Light of Day
Award: Notable


Christmas Tea

The essence of Christmas is getting together with the people we are close with. To encourage that, this design needs two people in order to function. It is a tea packaging design that encourages the sharing of a hot beverage with a dear person in the Christmas spirit.

Around Christmas time there is always controversy about throwing away the Christmas three after the holiday has passed, so I was eager to find a alternative which would keep the main essence of Christmas – getting together with your loved ones. Food and drink consumption is one of the main things that brings people together to a table, and because tea is the most used beverage in the winter time, the concept build around the tea bag came very naturally to life. Since it was a self-initiated project it all started with the idea of an alternative for the Christmas tea and excitingly ended in packaging design.

Core77: How did you learn that you had been recognized by the jury?

Actually we waited till 2 in the morning when the video announcement was made live from China! It was a new exiting way to wait for the results. The only problem was that we had to wait a couple of hours for everyone else (or parents, friends etc.) to wake up so that we could tell them about the notable award!

What’s the latest news or development with your project?

Every one who saw it in our friend circle liked it and wanted a Christmas Tea for themselves, so we are in the process of making some extra prototypes, and working on the details, but as long as the industry in Croatia goes, it is a small market and there is no money for investing in such new different concept at this time so we are on a lookout for a international distributor / investor.

What is 1 quick anecdote about your project?

Kresimir and I live in different cities, and when we meet to discuss our work together it is always accompanied by food or drinks. So we were sitting in a caffe talking about the christmas project and what makes christmas, that it was getting together with the ones you care for and sharing something together, so the waitress came and we both ordered tea, looked at each other and the rest is history. 
If you’re wondering why Jozo Matas isn’t on the photo it is because he is Maja’s dad who helped to make room in the garage, make the perforations and set us up with people in the cardboard/paper industry. Usually he is not a part of our design studio Mint, but he just helped so much that we wanted to thank him by putting him in the team with the application, just for fun, not knowing that our work would really be rewarded, and it is an honor.

Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.

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