Komorebi Tea Collective

The Premise: Komorebi is a Japanese word that describes sunlight filtering through trees, and the brand is built around stillness—the opposite of the daily rush—aiming to bring the feeling of a Kyoto teahouse to the Western consumer.

The Design: The logo pairs a minimalist leaf inside a soft circle with an elegant English logotype and stacked Japanese characters (木漏れ日). Including the characters was critical to ensure the brand didn’t feel like a Western interpretation of Japan.

Surface Illustration: I originally used a geometric Asanoha hemp leaf pattern but scrapped it because it felt too busy and flat, like I was just filling space. I pivoted to Sumi-e (ink wash landscape painting). Rendered in two or three colors at low opacity, the mountains and forests are a subtle nod to the Japanese landscape without making the packaging feel gaudy or overdone.

Auditing Materials: Premium tea is conventionally packaged in metal tin, but fter designing the first tin version, I scrapped it. I realized you can't build a brand around stillness and grounding and put it inside a loud metal container that clanks when you set it down. The sound of the material contradicted the brand promise.

The Switch to Paper: I switched to soft-touch matte paper tubes. Matte absorbs light, feels warmer in the hand, and doubles as a canvas for the Sumi-e illustrations so the art looks painted instead of just printed.

Tactile Continuity: Every touchpoint, from the uncoated textured sachets to the mailing box and weighted guide booklet, is designed to feel like the brand is physically telling the customer to slow down and take a minute.

Matcha Whisk Packaging: The challenge was packaging an existing tool so it didn’t feel like a cheap checkout upsell. The gold-etched whisk illustration on the box frames it as a revered, ceremonial tool rather than a standard kitchen item, making it part of the introduction to tea culture.

The Guide Booklet: I scrapped my original tri-fold pamphlet design halfway through. First, it was impossible to fit the necessary educational content inside it. Second, paper—even good paper—feels disposable. Customers throw pamphlets away, but they keep a booklet on their kitchen counter as a keepsake.

Artifact Value: Transforming the freebie into a piece of brand education customers value reinforces Komorebi’s mission. If the brand claims to teach you something, the teaching artifact has to feel like it’s worth being taught from.

Pacing the Feed: The Instagram grid extends the brand philosophy into digital space. If everyone is scrolling too fast, the grid must feel like a breath. It balances product photography, tea ceremony moments, landscape imagery, and educational content.

Editorial Tone: The profile uses a simplified logo mark because the full leaf decal felt too commercial. The tone resembles a small art gallery rather than a retail storefront. I deliberately kept customer content off the main grid because repost culture would cheapen the editorial feel. If the promise is a home tea ceremony, the Instagram must mirror that experience.