Marou Wallpaper* Special Edition

Designed by Rice Creative, Vietnam.

When Wallpaper* Magazine discovered Marou Chocolate, our client, they felt that this singular dark chocolate, hand-crafted in Saigon using purely local ingredients was a perfect match for their third annual Handmade issue (an issue with a focus on unique products combining luxury, craft and inspiration). Marou offered to create a special edition Wallpaper* chocolate bar in time for exhibiting at the 2012 Salone de Mobile in Milan. The packaging we designed for this occasion would stay true to the inspiration behind the standard Marou chocolate bars and press further the attention given to lovingly hand printed details. We strayed some from the traditional motifs of the standard bars to embrace a more modernist approach while incorporating the well known Wallpaper* asterisk mark. It began by creating a new background pattern, which moved away from the traditional lattice and organic elements, replacing them by geometric elements forming an extension of the Wallpaper* asterisk.

The same hand mixed inks and screen-printing methods used on the standard Marou packs were employed, but a new palette of hues would be used, derived from the Wallpaper* handmade seal. The seal even informed a limited edition version of Marou’s Monogram for this occasion. The final touch of hand embossing some of the pack’s design elements set the stage for a fully considered hand crafted piece.

Images shot by Arnaud De Harven