BlanBunny Tea × CAA︎︎︎
Blan Bunny & China Academy of Art
AD Helena Pallarés
CHINA, 2026 ︎︎︎ Hangzhou
During my latest visit to Hangzhou, I had the opportunity to collaborate with BlanBunny Tea and a group of students from the China Academy of Art (CAA) on a project exploring the relationship between illustration, local culture and the visual identity of the brand.
The project took place over eight three-hour workshops, during which we explored the distinctive flora of Hangzhou, looking closely at the plants, flowers and natural forms that are characteristic of the city. Rather than asking the students to reproduce a predetermined style, the aim was for them to first observe and interpret these elements through their own individual visual languages.
Throughout the workshops, the students developed their own illustrations of the different botanical elements. We then worked together on adapting these drawings to my visual language, exploring how their individual interpretations could coexist within a larger composition while retaining something of their original character.
The final stage of the project was to bring all these individual elements together into one large illustration. I selected, edited and combined the students’ drawings, developing the overall composition and visual language while incorporating some of the rich, layered and slightly extravagant aesthetic associated with BlanBunny Tea. The brand’s two rabbit characters also became part of the composition, creating a visual connection with its existing identity.
There was also a particularly nice connection behind the collaboration: BlanBunny Tea was founded by a group of friends who are themselves CAA alumni, making the project a collaboration between the brand, the university, its students and my own practice.
The resulting illustration measures 3 × 1 metres and was printed and exhibited at one of BlanBunny Tea’s stores in Hangzhou. The artwork was also conceived from the beginning with the possibility of translating the illustration into the brand’s tea collection and wider visual applications.
The project took place over eight three-hour workshops, during which we explored the distinctive flora of Hangzhou, looking closely at the plants, flowers and natural forms that are characteristic of the city. Rather than asking the students to reproduce a predetermined style, the aim was for them to first observe and interpret these elements through their own individual visual languages.
Throughout the workshops, the students developed their own illustrations of the different botanical elements. We then worked together on adapting these drawings to my visual language, exploring how their individual interpretations could coexist within a larger composition while retaining something of their original character.
The final stage of the project was to bring all these individual elements together into one large illustration. I selected, edited and combined the students’ drawings, developing the overall composition and visual language while incorporating some of the rich, layered and slightly extravagant aesthetic associated with BlanBunny Tea. The brand’s two rabbit characters also became part of the composition, creating a visual connection with its existing identity.
There was also a particularly nice connection behind the collaboration: BlanBunny Tea was founded by a group of friends who are themselves CAA alumni, making the project a collaboration between the brand, the university, its students and my own practice.
The resulting illustration measures 3 × 1 metres and was printed and exhibited at one of BlanBunny Tea’s stores in Hangzhou. The artwork was also conceived from the beginning with the possibility of translating the illustration into the brand’s tea collection and wider visual applications.