Features of packaging design in the largest tea production companies in modern China

The subject of the research is the design of tea packaging in the industry of modern China. The objective is to identify the main features in the formation of packaging for tea through an analysis of offerings from the country's largest producers – Bama Tea and Dayi Tea. The author examines in detail the principles of structure and design options chosen by Chinese designers for packaging from the perspective of artistic and creative, particularly compositional, relationships; identifies changes in the decoration and packaging of tea within the spectrum of preferred motifs, particularly elements from calligraphy, painting, and symbolism, as well as analyzes the color palette, ornaments, and patterns. The analysis of the modern tea packaging has allowed the identification of major producers' positioning strategies and the role of packaging in the purchasing decision process. The methodology of the research is based on the systematization and analysis of existing information on the practice of formation in the design of packaging products, as well as the study of design principles for such products that contemporary designers in China rely on. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that it reveals a number of features of modern packaging design for the first time; it establishes the role of artistic and creative elements in the formation of products. The packaging design of Bama Tea is based on graphic elements that reflect the brand's history. The design of PUYU tea packaging is created with consideration of contemporary trends, but it also features Eastern aesthetics. The author concludes that Chinese designers in tea packaging orient themselves towards forms, color characteristics, patterns, fonts, and compositions that are characteristic of the company, but lean towards solutions related to symbols of traditional culture, striving for maximum simplification, which is connected with national perceptions of the beauty, as well as with ecological considerations.