Wildflower Tea Shop
Wildflower Tea Shop and Apothecary is a staple in Chattanooga. After frequenting the tea shop and getting to know Hillary through our yoga community, she asked us to help her design new labels and packaging for their loose-leaf tea products in 2021.
Before starting, we knew that our special relationship with Hillary and the tea shop would help create a design that was truly in line with the brand and what it feels like to be in the tea shop. So we got to work, finding ways to blend the story, the shop’s aesthetics (and gorgeous blue tile), and the love and care that Hillary puts into their blends.
The Process
The first step in the packaging design process was to research which bags were best for Wildflower’s products and brand.
Being a tea shop, packaging matters a lot, because you don’t want the leaves to be too exposed to moisture or sunlight. Of course, we wanted to have a large enough window to show the beautiful tea leaves!
Using their existing brand, we were able to design a label for each of their three blends: black, herbal, and green teas. Each label, depending on the type of tea, is a different shade of blue.
The main shade of blue on each label was inspired by the flooring tiles in Wildflower’s gorgeous Chattanooga tea shop, which is Hillary’s favorite part of their location (and mine!). The packaging, including the tissue paper and insert card, were designed to make sure people who order online or get their tea as a gift have the same experience as anyone walking into the shop off the street. We wanted them to feel welcome, to get a touch of Wildflower’s vintage style, and to be able to smell the tea brewing!
The next step was designing their tissue paper for packaging. As it turned out, the printer (NoIssue) could only print 2 colors on their tissue paper, which led us to a super simplified design. The design we chose is based on the hexagonal, light blue tiles on their tea shop floor — and we used the same blue colors from the labels to bring it all together.
Our final project was an insert card, showing online buyers how to brew their tea. Because tea is all about the experience for Hillary, she also wanted to add a notes section to the other side of the insert. This way, buyers can write down their tea experience and leave notes about their favorite flavors.
