Elwing Gao    高宇遥


















Work
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About


USE FOR
2025 / VISUAL IDENTITY, PACKAGING DESIGN


Speculative branding for a product line of “WeChat Remedies”, or strange advice Chinese moms give their children to prevent them from getting sick. Plays off the extravagance of traditional Chinese medicine packaging and the humor behind not trusting home remedies but doing them anyway. At the same time, these giftable packages capture the care behind each bit of advice, making a mundane exchange into something beautiful.

Visual strategy employs textured, intricate illustrations and vibrant colors to reference traditional medicine and create a sense of childhood nostalgia, while vortex-like patterns bring new energy to the delicate drawings. Project language and title poke at mistranslations and mixed grammar; “use for” sounds a little like “useful”. 

Project features three examples: a hair towel (never go to sleep with your hair wet), a pair of slippers (always keep your feet warm), and a thermos (drinking hot water solves everything). Each item wrapped with patterned tissue paper, tied with an illustrated instruction booklet, sealed with a funky sticker, and placed in a custom-sized box.

Collaborator: L.ily Nguyen.