Rong Ding Xuan is a Chinese company that manufactures and sells traditional Chinese redwood furniture. After touring their factory and speaking with the owners, we were very deeply impressed by their attitude towards their craft and their attention towards the smallest details. This is truly what sets them apart from other competitors.
Rong Ding Xuan
For example, they do not apply coating to their finished products. Whilst competitors use a thick layer of varnish to even out jointing surfaces, they use a painstaking two-step polishing process to achieve mirror-like surfaces. Redwood naturally is very tough and scratch resistant, whereas coating is prone to scratch marks, like cars they have to be recoated if scratched. And stain marks are easily removed by sand papering away the top surface. Traditional craftsmanship is at heart more sustainable and run counter to planned obsolescence of modern day mass consumption products. This pursuit of excellence in craftsmanship and honesty in treatment of materials is what we sought to express in our design.
It is with this deep sense of respect that we set out this rebranding exercise. Subtlety in expression, a graceful elegance that is reserved and confident. Semiotically, we positioned their brand in the middle between ultra conservative redwood industry and uber design oriented modern Chinese furniture brands. Grounded in history and traditional crafts but forward looking and open. Finding an appropriate way to visually communicate their products is core to this project. We borrowed photographic styles from prestige watch and car visuals to convey the premium nature of their products. The sharp highlights against a dark background showcase the beautiful lines and surface gloss of the furniture.
United Design Practice 