BRANDING | PACKAGING
The Mayans, who discovered the cocoa beans, believed that the beans were a gift from the gods. Siibil, which means gift in Mayan, was inspired by this idea.
Each package features a different god in a geometric form. I chose the geometric design because it keeps the angular form of Mayan drawings, yet brings a more modern style to the design.
BRANDING
The idea for Siibil’s logo was derived from the chocolate bar making process. The liquefied state of the chocolate is demonstrated in Siibil’s typeface. The hardened, chocolate bar, at completion, is represented by the outer box it is confined in.
BUSINESS IDENTITY
PACKAGING
Each package depicts a Mayan god and explains who that god was on the back of each package. The Mayan gods were illustrated similar to the Mayan’s descriptions or visual depictions of them.
MINT CITRUS MILK CHOCOLATE: YUM CAAX
Yum Caax is the first god I designed for this packaging. You can see me experimenting with early designs of Yum Caax in the sketches. Yum Caax is the god of woods, nature, plants, and the hunt. He is regarded as a benevolent god who protects the plants and animals for humans and sustenance. To create his design I referenced a stone tablet that was found of him. I wanted to demonstrate his care for nature so I wanted him holding onto a plant as if he was guarding it. For his design, I wanted a flavor that came from a plant which is why I chose mint and citrus.
DARK CHOCOLATE WITH HONEY: EK CHUAH
Ek Chuah is a god that protects travelers, merchants, and warriors. He was also recognized as a patron and protector of the cacao beans and cacao products. I wanted to illustrate him with the cacao beans since he was the protector of them. I chose the flavors dark chocolate and honey to do this.
His design came from a ceramic vessel I found that was created of him. To show the bar’s flavor I used color to demonstrate honey and used cacao beans in Ek Chuah’s design.
SEA SALT MILK CHOCOLATE: CHAAC
Chaac is the god of storms and rain which is why I chose his chocolate bar flavor to be Sea Salt. To create his design I referenced an incense burner that the Mayan's created in his liking. Lastly, I intertwined his flavor into the design by using the color blue and giving his hat the appearance of tiny salt fragments.
To the right is the process I used to create the chocolate bar illustrations. When I started the assignment I had not yet come up with the idea of utilizing geometric shapes which is why my early sketches look different from the final design. Once I had brought the sketches into Adobe Illustrator I had come up with the idea to use the triangular shapes in the design.
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