Tea has always had a culture surrounding it, from the casual afternoon tea to the ritualized tea ceremonies. It was important for this project to essentially work from the inside out so each layer of packaging related to the pieces inside. My own love for geometry and cubes led me to choose a uniquely cubic teabag. Thus began the process of developing Geo Tea, a company that believes in creating an interesting product that can become a centerpiece to bringing people together. 

 

Like any other project, Geo Tea started on paper. Sketching become my most free and open form of getting ideas and concepts out of my head and into the physical world. Having already chosen the serving style of the tea, I began by letting my mind go and writing down any ideas that came to mind. In the ideation phase of any project I want to have a wide variety of possible solutions and from there begin to further develop the strongest ideas. 

As concepts became more solid, I moved into modeling. I made a set of 1x1x1 inch boxes, the same size as the teabags, out of Bristol paper in order to have something physical to manipulate and reference to as I worked through ideas.

These teas were not meant to be used as someone's daily tea, but would be brought out during a special occasion where the teabags would be out on display and available for people to take. To really push this idea forward, the bags would need a way of being displayed while still fitting within the box. Inspired by the fast food style knockdown drink holders, I developed a series of prototypes of a sliding tray that could compact down to fit within the box, and also slide up to allow access to the bags on the lower level, all able to fully knockdown flat. This project was all after having made our paper sculptures which had been a great opportunity to develop a familiarity and confidence with the material. And compared to the sculpture, any of the prototypes for my packaging never seemed too difficult.

With the engineering set, all that was left was the graphics. The development of the look used a process of sketching, computer work, and a manipulation of physical models and mockups to see how each graphic element worked when it was actually in hand.

A single packaging unit is 2.25 x 2.25 x 7 inches (+ 1 inch tab) and contains a sleeve of three boxes each with 8 tea bags. The series of reveals draws the consumer in, exposing a new piece of the geometric puzzle. The tab of the tray sprouts through the lid of the box and becomes the a tab for its own enclosure. The four levels; the tea, the tray, the boxes, and the sleeves; each speak to the Geo Tea brand individually, but also appear to complete each other as they are put back together. The modular and geometric look was centered around the idea of each piece fitting together as a group and when together, creating a whole. The entire system, besides the tea bags, are fully knockdown.