A love you can taste.
For this project, the main objective was expanding on a preexisting concept to form a brand that contained the same values and visual theme. Valentina Chocolate is meant to be an organic, forward-thinking brand that values sustainability and healthy interpersonal relationships from harvest to consumption.
Valentina began as an e-publication and set of digital illustrations. I had already done research on chocolate’s historical origins, its evolution, production, and modern ethics; now, with these painted assets, I wanted to expand further and form a brand with its own product.
A cacao pod.
An open cacao pod.
Valentina Chocolate's finalized wordmark.
Valentina, or valentine, is an expression of love. For Valentina Chocolate to emulate a similar warmth, I took the earthy, grainy texture and colors of my prior work as visual inspiration. The brand’s wordmark is a round, bubbly lowercase that loops like a handwritten letter; the heart replaces the dot over the eye.
The promotional lineup of Valentina Chocolate's Sample Collection.
A lacy, heart-shaped pattern was constructed from the lettermark's "L" to emphasize the message of love shared in every bite. The lines are kept sharp and clean for a clean, modern look that marries well with Valentina's typography, motto, and brand statement.
Front of a bar.
Back of a bar.
Once the bars had been made, focus shifted towards the bundle packaging. The idea was to create a sample that could be distributed to potential investors and influencers, building publicity around the brand’s name and dedication to contemporary, ethical values.
The Sample Collection's cover image.
Front of promotional box, featuring the slogan and heart-shaped lace pattern.
Back of promotional box, including brand statement, nutritional info, ingredients, and barcode. The icons are self-made.
Valentina Chocolate is my first attempt at returning to a prior exploration and reshaping it into something more applicable to daily life. It is also one of my first explorations into package design, particularly from a brand of my own invention. Though the packaging was modeled in Adobe Dimensions, this project has also piqued my interest in 3D software. I hope to expand on other early projects in the future.