Reinventing Kungfu Pu’er Tea as a wellness lifestyle brand, inspired by the spirit of Chinese martial artists, that connects contemporary audiences with ancient tea drinking traditions.

Kungfu Pu’er Tea

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#### In brief
Kungfu Pu’er Tea is a producer of fine tea in Yunnan province, China, whose traditional production methods date back to the Ancient Tea Horse Road, or Chamagudao. This tea trade route, dating back over 1,300 years, followed 4,000km through China’s Sichuan Province to Tibet, trading Tibetan ponies for Chinese tea.

But with ancient tea drinking traditions that date back to the Song Dynasty, the brand needed to connect with contemporary audiences. We partnered with Kungfu Pu’er to reposition it as a wellness lifestyle brand that’s ‘made for urban knights’, created to rejuvenate body and mind for a new generation of tea drinkers.

#### What we did
Kungfu Pu’er celebrates the notion of tea as the “antidote” to an overwhelming, fast-paced lifestyle of a modern society. The functional attribute of refreshing the body and mind is rich in the emotional value of joyful spirit, positioning tea as a bridge for consumers to explore their own hearts and to live their lives with meaning.

With a brand statement, “drink with the world and live a transparent heart”, we created the visual identity inspired by the spirit of Chinese martial artists, Kung Fu warriors, the symbol of living lives with a pure heart, dedicated to others.

We evolved the distinctive swordsman logo of Kungfu Pu’er tea from the traditional Chinese Wuxia knight into a contemporary marque, a symbol of Kungfu Pu’er tea as “a drink made for urban knights”. Each element of the marque evokes the story of the travelling knight, from the ‘bowa’ curve of the Diaojialou and the line of the Shujian teacup, to the tip of the sword and the shape of the sky, protecting the knight on his journey. 

The visual language for packaging and communications is formed as an artistic reinterpretation of Chinese traditional watercolour paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, rice paper and seal carving textures, reaffirming the spirit of ancient Wuxia and tea culture into the brand expression.  The signature pattern is designed in the shape of an ancient sword, applied to packaging, brand merchandise and gifting. The colour palette draws on traditional tones in ink, red, gold and black, with black and white photography evoking the ancient Tea Horse Road landscapes.

> “Kungfu Pu’er Tea is a great example of how we use design to power a brand. Tea is a staple in many people’s lives, however ancient tea-making traditions and the deep-rooted connections that tea drinking has to one’s body and mind, particularly with pu’er tea, are no longer highlighted in modern society. Every element of our design process was carefully developed to capture the story, pay homage to traditions and craft, and encourage consumers to take a moment to stop, enjoy Kungfu Pu’er tea and to live like its urban knight, with meaning.”
>
> *— Ray Lan, Executive Creative Director, Design Bridge and Partners, Shanghai* 


Kungfu Pu’er Tea is a producer of fine tea in Yunnan province, China, with traditional production methods that date back to the Ancient Tea Horse Road, Celebrating the notion of tea as the “antidote” to an overwhelming, fast-paced lifestyle of a modern society, we repositioned Kungfu Pu’er as a wellness lifestyle brand that’s ‘made for urban knights’, designed to rejuvenate body and mind for a new generation of tea drinkers.

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Design Bridge and Partners | Kungfu Pu’er

Superunion and Design Bridge come together to create Design Bridge and Partners. Redefining what design is and what design can do for brands, businesses, people and the planet. We are a revolutionary design partnership.

Design Bridge and Superunion come together to create Design Bridge and Partners. Redefining what design is and what design can do for brands, businesses, people and the planet. We are a revolutionary design partnership.

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Kungfu Pu’er Tea

Reinventing Kungfu Pu’er Tea as a wellness lifestyle brand, inspired by the spirit of Chinese martial artists, that connects contemporary audiences with ancient tea drinking traditions.