Silver Packaging Design · 2026
Aquafam Packaging
by Wen Liu
- A' Design Award 2026 Silver Winner in Packaging Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Guishui Zhiling (Guizhou) Mineral Water Co., Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 35,296
- Verification code 177A5FD183 · Verify this award
About Aquafam Packaging
Aquafam is a bottle designed for premium natural mineral water. The bottle is made of high white glass and shaped with rounded shoulders and a recessed base that recall karst mountain forms. Symbols inspired by the Hongya Tianshu petroglyphs are formed directly during molding, creating a tactile intaglio texture and reducing the use of ink. The cap is embossed with an ichthyosaur fossil motif and uses a standard twist off aluminum closure. The outer packaging is made of corrugated material from recycled pulp and is printed in two colors only.
Wen Liu's Aquafam Packaging represents a distinguished achievement in contemporary beverage vessel design, demonstrating the designer's thoughtful synthesis of sculptural form, material poetry, and brand narrative within the functional constraints of commercial packaging. The work emerges from a tradition of premium water bottle design that seeks to elevate the quotidian act of hydration into an aesthetic experience, drawing upon conventions established by luxury beverage houses while introducing distinctive formal innovations. The fluted shoulder treatment, suggestive of mountain ridges or organic fan formations, creates a visual metaphor connecting the contained product to its presumed alpine or natural spring origins, while the dimensionally molded base terrain reinforces this geographic narrative through tactile sculptural means. The chromatic differentiation between the clear and aqua-tinted variants offers consumers visual choice while maintaining brand coherence through consistent structural elements, embossed logographic details, and proportional relationships. Technically, the design demonstrates sophisticated understanding of glass as a medium: the faceted body planes create ever-shifting light interactions as viewing angle changes, transforming a static object into a kinetic visual experience. The integration of Eastern calligraphic elements with Western sans-serif typography suggests cross-cultural market positioning and visual sophistication appropriate to global premium beverage contexts. The minimal material palette and recyclable glass construction align with contemporary environmental consciousness without sacrificing aesthetic refinement. One might observe how the designer employs the bottle itself as primary communication surface, eschewing applied paper labels in favor of embossed glass markings that speak to material authenticity and sustainable permanence. The viewer is invited to consider how packaging design at this level transcends mere containment, becoming instead a meditation on how form, material, and brand narrative can harmonize to elevate everyday objects into vessels of considered beauty.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This premium mineral water design is crafted as a geological epic in physical form. The bottle is inscribed with enigmatic symbols inspired by the Hongya Tianshu, its surface textured to mimic the erosion marks of millennia-old glacial potholes. Shaped with curves that reflect the silhouette of karst mountains, it features naturally rounded shoulders and a subtly recessed base, creating a striking visual gravitational pull. The cap is embossed with an ichthyosaur fossil totem, a timeless emblem of ancient life preserved. Each detail channels 225 million years of Earth’s energy into the palm of the hand, redefining luxury through the essence of nature itself.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 60.5mm×60.5mm×193mm
- Tags
- Aquafam, Natural Ecology, Mystical Oriental, Mountain-Water Realm, Minimalist Aesthetics, International Fashion, Premium Water Product, Natural Drinking Mineral Water
- Production Technology
- The bottle is crafted from high white glass, chosen for its purity and clarity. The Hongya Tianshu Petroglyph motif is integrated into the surface through a seamless one piece molding technique. This creates a tactile intaglio texture, with each line reflecting forms shaped by flowing water over millennia. To minimize ink use, all decorative patterns are formed during molding, leaving only essential labeling to be printed. The outer packaging uses corrugated material made from recycled pulp, which biodegrades readily. Printing is limited to two colors. This minimalist approach aligns the packaging with the brand's commitment to environmental stewardship.
- Design Challenge
- This translation distills 225 million years of geological history into a bottle, moving beyond literal symbols to embody a modern language of luxury.
Instead of reproducing fossils, we reimagined the Hongya Tianshu as an abstract energy icon. This approach retains the ethereal essence of mountain and water while translating it into a contemporary form. The bottle's shoulder is shaped to trace the defined ridges of karst peaks, and its base subtly suggests inverted summits. This creates a dialogue between solid and void, strength and softness, offering a tangible expression of yin-yang harmony.
Through seamless intaglio craftsmanship, the erosional textures of ancient glacial potholes are rendered tactile. This allows primordial energy to be felt through touch. Each interaction becomes a quiet ritual, a gentle transfer of energy from the earth's depths to life's sustenance. Holding the bottle becomes a conversation across time. - Project Duration
- Time: November 2024 – May 2025
Location: Shenzhen, China - Operation Flow
- The engraved Tianshu texture on the bottle surface creates a tactile memory when held, as if fingertips are tracing the imprints of millennia old civilization. As water flows along the undulating mountain contours at the bottle's base, it refracts shimmering light patterns, reminiscent of a stream meandering through a canyon stillness in motion. The cap adopts a standard twist off aluminum design, balancing cost efficiency with user convenience, while each act of untwisting becomes a subtle ritual of releasing geological energy. This is more than just drinking water; it is about weaving a moment of daily life into the rhythm of nature and wellness.
- Research
- The design team visited the water source in Guanling, Guizhou. They drew inspiration from the layered karst landscape and the centuries old mystery of the Hongya Tianshu, interpreting the earth's embedded energy. Water analysis revealed a unique mineral composition, with strontium levels between 23 mg/L and 48 mg/L, a calcium magnesium ratio within the ideal 2:1 to 3:1 range, and natural alkalinity. Guided by this, the design focuses on two core expressions. First, it transforms the petroglyph symbols into an energy channel along the bottle, subtly conveying nature's gift to vitality. Second, the undulating, mountain inspired silhouette echoes the cyclical rhythm of the source ecosystem. Millennia of geological movement are distilled into three tactile elements: the shoulder line suggests mountain uplift, the intaglio texture evokes water erosion, and the base structure reflects sedimentary deposition. This turns intangible time and energy into a contemporary, holdable form of expression.
- Inspiration
- The design draws inspiration from the natural texture of Guizhou's Guanling landscape, where rolling peaks and the enigmatic inscriptions of the Hongya Tianshu form a secluded natural realm. Rock strata here preserve the ancient vitality of ichthyosaurs and crinoids. The design also incorporates the essence of Chinese landscape philosophy, seeing mountains as the enduring backbone of the earth and water as the flowing source of life. Here, mountain, stone, and water converge, defining the character of the water itself and narrating a story woven by nature and time.