Jia-Rong Chang / Shu-Shan Tsai

The two students Jia-Rong Chang and Shu-Shan Tsai love to go travelling in their native country Taiwan, and so the topic for their final project was one close to their hearts: they created a special souvenir series that evokes a visit to Taiwan, and not just visually. The two big challenges they faced were time management and technical limitations, as they also had to conduct olfactory experiments for SCENT.

Jia-Rong Chang and Shu-Shan Tsai in Interview with Red Dot

Red Dot: Your SCENT packaging is a symbiosis of traditional and modern elements ...
Jia-Rong Chang / Shu-Shan Tsai: Yes – amongst other things, we wanted to convey the diverse and vibrant image of Taiwan with this packaging by using satin-finished, textured paper combined with a semi-transparent material which in turn fits the properties of the fragrance. At the same time, we chose a reduced layout to stay in line with international souvenir style while simultaneously promoting Taiwanese culture.

As a souvenir, SCENT reflects the character of Taiwan not only in design style but also through specific fragrances. What role do these play?
We believe that multisensory design makes it easier for people to engage and interact with the product. For example, our design has essential oils flowing through the wave-like shapes of the diffusers, thereby also creating a visual change in the pattern.

Taiwanese design is distinguished by ...
... being pragmatic and practical, which can be traced back to the country’s strong OEM background. Compared to Western countries, Taiwan sets greater store by the possibilities of manufacturing.