Mãi – made from 100% up-cycled plastic waste.

Client
Service

Sector

Year

Mai
Rebranding, Packaging Design, Social Media Design
Sustainable ever-expanding collection
2024

Our name: Mãi.
‘Mãi’ is the Vietnamese word for "forever".

   Re-branding:
   After three years of operation, Mãi Collection remains an outstanding product. However, its brand identity needs to evolve to better tell its own story. This is an opportunity for us to reflect on the beautiful products made from these unique materials and enhance their presentation even further.

   We wish to showcase the enduring nature of plastic as a celebration of the beauty and functionality that can be achieved through a better use of the material.

   About Mãi products:
   Mãi began as a set of furniture that took inspiration from the small stools and tables commonly found at the street-side food and coffee vendors in Vietnam. We reimagined them with a contemporary and modular design.

   With our fully up-cycled furniture done, we continued and repurposed leftover scraps of material from the production process into interactive, engaging, and meaningful objects and games—Tumbling Tower, Tangram Puzzle, Cube Puzzle and a laptop stand. Mãi is expected to expand in the near future, introducing more classic designs with a modern and sustainable approach.

MÃI STREET STOOL

MÃI TANGRAM PUZZLE

MÃI CUBE PUZZLE

MÃI TUMBLING TOWER

MÃI STREET TABLE

MÃI LAPTOP STAND

   As previously mentioned, "Mãi began as a set of furniture inspired by the small stools and tables commonly found at street-side food and coffee vendors in Vietnam." In this rebranding effort, one of our primary goals is to showcase more beautiful moments from the story of Mãi-a brand that proudly comes from Vietnam and the artisanal process that creates meaningful products you can hold in your hands.

   The images depicting Mãi's process reveal its true significance. Mãi addresses human needs, is crafted by humans, and ultimately returns to be used by humans.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE "FOREVER"?

   Celebrate forever:
   Mai is a story about the belief that everything has its own extraordinary value, even if it is just used plastics, with thoughtfulness and creativity.

   Design is good:
   Through purposeful design, Mai sees transforming discarded materials into useful and beautiful products as a responsibility toward the sustainability of our planet.

   Design is sustainable:
   With curiosity and joy, Mãi brings to life creations that empower environmental consciousness and social impact while serving daily life with aesthetics and functionality.

    To better convey its story, Mãi incorporates various graphic forms to illustrate the concept of "forever"—making it impactful, relatable, and appealing. By utilizing graphic elements, new product images, and the theme of "forever," we aim to create a diverse system that can be used across various platforms.

  The lockup "Made from 100% Up-cycled Plastic Waste" and Mãi's logo are CNC-engraved on various products in different sizes, serving as a powerful "honored scar" that tells the product's story. This is also the most striking information for anyone encountering and learning about Mãi's products for the first time.

   Creating 3D product version is a new way to express Mãi's new brand identity. This approach allows us to gain a deeper and clearer understanding of our own products, while also providing the brand with a more dynamic way to showcase its offerings alongside photography.

   Each product is carefully examined, from technical drawings to practical details, ensuring that Mãi's consumers can truly appreciate the authenticity of the images. The unique and distinctive qualities of Mãi's materials are represented as faithfully as possible in every product.

   The 3D design is a perfect aesthetic medium to convey the concept that Mãi means forever. All the videos not only showcase the product images but also tell the story in a seamless manner through various approaches. There will be many more ways to continue using this format to make Mãi’s products more relatable and engaging for users.

MAI STREET STOOL

MAI STREET TABLE

MAI TUMBLING TOWER

MAI CUBE PUZZLE

MAI LAPTOP STAND

MAI TANGRAM PUZZLE

   All Mãi packagings are flat-packed to optimize efficiency, reduce materials, and lower emissions.

   The packaging of all Mãi products serves as a medium to express various facets of the brand. Each type of packaging showcases Mãi in different ways while still highlighting the brand visually for users. The changes in packaging represent the most significant transformation, giving Mãi's products a distinct, bold, and personalized voice.

   Numerous experiments with different approaches have focused on achieving a visual effect by repeating the Mãi logo. This has proven effective when displaying products on shelves—where the packaging itself can also serve as a display.

   To amplify the product message, Mãi's website is designed with a strong personality in its layout, structure, and functionality, all while embodying the "forever" concept. Certain design highlights throughout the website create lasting impressions of the brand's character, enhancing the overall user experience.

   Experiment Mãi website at:
   www.mãi.com

Role: Art Director, Designer.
Agency: ricestudios.
Creative Director: Joshua Breidenbach.
Art Director: Nu Nguyen
Designer: Chi-An De Leo, Tien Nguyen, Mark Bain, Duy Nguyen, Thai Tu, Ange Linh, Giang ho, Linh Khuu, Hau Huynh, Khanh Ha.
Image: Mãi