GREEN ORANGE JUICE (AONISAI)

Green Orange Juice (Aonisai)

Client: ORANGE BLOSSOM
Design Company: YOSHIMOTO KIYOTAKA DESIGN OFFICE
Creative Director / Art Director / Designer: Kiyotaka Yoshimoto
Country: Japan

"Green mandarins that bear its fruit past the Obon festival (an annual Japanese Buddhist custom to honour the spirits of one's ancestors; taking place in mid August). Green (written "blue" in Japanese) mandarins during this period have a nice balance of acidity and just the right amount of bitterness — a taste only orange farmers can enjoy for a limited time. 
Born and raised in Kawachi of Kumamoto Prefecture, mandarin farmer and also the representative of ORANGE BLOSSOM, Auntie Ukiko Murakami reimagines the blue mandarin juice she drank as a child, which is what became "青二彩／青みかんのジュース" (AONISAI/Green (written "blue" in Japanese) Orange Juice).

Freshly squeezed 100% fruit juice is beautiful in colour, and picturing the skin of the green orange that envelops this fruit, I illustrated it directly on the label. The colour of the skin is close to green — and so "Green Orange" came about. 

In Japanese we say "blue". In English, "green". I felt this was a nuance unique to Japan, so chose a label with the texture of Japanese washi paper. I aimed to colour the label in a way that brings out the vivid colour of the juice. 
As for the mini bottle, to reflect its smaller volume, the silhouette of the mandarin is halved. The roman letters for ORANGE BLOSSOM was also designed at the same time, with the "O" the same shape as the green orange. 
Ukiko Murakami-san, who places a massive amount of heart into her oranges and Kawachi. Taking that feeling, I designed truthfully and openly."