The Evolution of K-Beauty: A Fusion of Tradition, Innovation, and Design
Packaging design is much more than just a shell – it tells stories, evokes emotions and creates a connection between the product and the consumer. Through colours, shapes and illustrations, it can convey values and make a brand tangible. The brand Yiayia and Friends fully embraces this philosophy:
The project, brought to life by the renowned design agency Beetroot, blends traditional aesthetics with modern design, creating a visual world where nostalgia and zeitgeist come together.
The project centres around Yiayia, the grandmother, a symbol of knowledge, care and intergenerational wisdom. Her lovingly illustrated depictions on the packaging of olive oil, pasta and herbs evoke family rituals and universal feelings of home and security that transcend cultures. Yiayia and Friends preserves Greece’s cultural heritage and brings it to life for modern consumers.
The art and design behind Yiayia and Friends has received multiple distinctions in the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design and has been celebrated for its outstanding innovation and artistic execution, most recently in 2024 with a Red Dot: Best of the Best.
Jury favourite: Laurent Lacour on Yiayia and Friends
Red Dot juror Laurent Lacour chose the project “yiayia and friends” as his personal favourite and particularly praised the successful combination of nostalgia and contemporary elements:
“’Yiayia and Friends’ is a fascinating project from Greece with a brilliant communication concept that reinterprets traditional ways of life through art and design. It celebrates the wisdom and charm of Greek grandmothers. The design features bright colours, superbly executed illustrations and a style that is both nostalgic and contemporary. Products such as olive oil and pasta have packaging featuring illustrations ascribed to ‘Yiayia’, meaning ‘grandmother’. Stories and anecdotes link the products to Greek culture. This project preserves and celebrates cultural heritage and reminds us of the importance of family and community.”
The evolution of the brand
The brand grew faster than expected – but its visual identity was designed for expandability from the outset. “The original illustration established the design parameters that still guide the brand’s identity today”, explains Beetroot. “The use of negative space, how each character shapes and is shaped by the adjoining one, the characters’ distinctive eyes that serve as the logo mark – these are all tools that were created from the beginning and define how the visual identity grows with the brand”. The flexibility of the illustrations also played a major role: “A greater challenge is adapting the illustrations to irregular product shapes, such as making a kitchen spatula look like a pig or a rooster”, explains the Beetroot team.
Storytelling as the driving force behind the brand
But the key to success lies above all in the emotional connection to the brand: “Storytelling is an important part of the brand’s success because people love stories that they can relate to and that resonate with their own experiences”, Beetroot continues. Yiayia is more than a character – she represents universal values of warmth, community and authenticity. “Yiayia was inspired by a real person, one of our own grandmothers. Today, this almost mythical but very real figure is a memory. But she stands for the values that the brand wants to bring back into the world in a contemporary way”.
The website, which was awarded a Red Dot: Best of the Best in 2022, serves not only as an e-commerce platform but also as a place for strong storytelling and unique imagery. Here, more space is given to the brand narrative than to commercial aspects – a conscious decision that lends the brand authenticity: “In today’s digital age, brands need to tell compelling and truthful stories to reach and connect with their audiences. Online audiences are more discriminating and perceptive, and they respond positively to more authentic and emotionally engaging content. We believe so strongly in the value of storytelling that, throughout the Yiayia and Friends e-shop, the narrative is the dominant element of the site, above and before any commercial aspects”, says Beetroot.
Beetroot: Red Dot: Agency of the Year 2011
The award-winning design studio Beetroot from Thessaloniki has created an impressive example of creative, interdisciplinary design work with Yiayia and Friends. Known for their innovative solutions and their ability to create strong visual identities, Beetroot has worked with numerous well-known clients such as Nestlé Hellas, Microsoft and Greenpeace. Their work is characterised by the bold use of colour, shape and illustration, and has earned the studio international acclaim, including the honorary title “Red Dot: Agency of the Year 2011”.
Beetroot’s unique approach to illustration plays a central role. Illustration offers creative freedom, enabling brands and campaigns to be given a strong visual identity that is both appealing and recognisable. The Yiayia and Friends project is a prime example of this approach. With its visionary approach, Beetroot remains at the forefront of the design world – bold, innovative and always looking for new ways to rethink visual communication.
