The Lân

bracom bracom agency chinese new year envelope Lunar New Year Packaging Red Envelope unicorn vietnam red

"The Lân" by Bracom Agency

A story behind

“Li Xi” (giving lucky money) is a cherished custom in Vietnam and in some other Asian countries during the Tet holiday. The money wrapped in red envelopes carries wishes for health, luck and wealth of the givers to their beloved ones. People also use envelopes in blue or yellow, which all symbolize for luck, hope and prosperity. Besides, unicorn dance is one of another traditional performances at Tet holiday to celebrate the new year. Unicorn, a mythical creature, is believed to bring fortune and luck to homeowners. Unicorn had initially been a vicious animal but was tamed by a fairy, thus allegedly can keep evils and misfortunes away.

Approaching

“The Lan” project was inspired by the image of a playful unicorn climbing to the curved roof of a communal house to watch the fireworks on New Year’s eve. We believe that this amiable visual will send happiness and joy to everyone on this special occasion. The highlight of this envelope set lays on the eyes of the unicorn because according to our tradition, the eye represents “ the window of the soul.” The envelope and the wish card in the set are uniquely designed to add an eye blink effect to the unicorn as if it is brought to life.

Highlights

The envelope set offers choice of three colors: red represents for females, blue represents for males and yellow represents for ancestors. A large part of the unicorn’s face is kept as in its original version, only the eyes and some minor features are changed to create variations. The front side is filled with a depiction of an unicorn sitting on the roof of a communal house while on the back side is an unicorn watching the fireworks. We apply screen printing on blue and red envelopes to imitate the black ink used in Chinese calligraphy while yellow envelopes are foil stamped for a beautiful finish. The set contains five envelopes attached with a card to write down wishes. Everything is put into a box whose outside is carved in a way so that when the five envelopes lay inside the box, it appears as colorful fireworks.