/ About the project
Highland Harvests is a collection of bee-derived products by Karuna, a social enterprise in the highlands of northern Vietnam that supports Indigenous Tai Dam communities through ethical beekeeping, biodiversity preservation, and sustainable production. Featuring Snow Honey, a hand-poured beeswax candle, and a biodegradable food wrap, the kit translates Karuna's mission into a thoughtful product experience rooted in nature, community, and care.
/ INDUSTRY
Nature
/ SCOPE
Visual Identity, Packaging, Product
/ Credits
Client: Karuna (Pro Bono Proposal)
Designer: Micah Hoang
/ Year
2024
Background
Karuna works with Tai Dam families in Thường Xuân, where deforestation and illegal logging threaten the high-altitude Snow Shan tea forests. By creating sustainable income through beekeeping, Karuna helps protect the forests that Tai Dam families and their bees depend on.
These bees forage in an unspoiled mountain ecosystem, producing exceptionally pure Snow Honey shaped by generations of Tai Dam knowledge.
Visual Identity
The brand identity balances modern refinement with organic warmth. The Karuna wordmark, set in Pangram Pangram Rader, uses clean, confident forms to communicate trust and sustainability, while subtle humanistic details reflect the enterprise’s community-driven mission.
The honeybee logomark positions the bee as the brand’s hero: friendly, hardworking, and essential to the harmony between people and the environment.
Snow Honey
Packaging details draw from Tai Dam textile traditions, using dot patterns and triangular borders inspired by intricate woven tapestries. At the center of the kit, Snow Honey is presented in a clean glass jar with a warm, approachable label that emphasizes its raw purity, cultural origin, and connection to the land.
Beeswax Candle
The beeswax candle in the Highland Harvests kit is a handcrafted piece that embodies simplicity, sustainability, and warmth. Poured into a natural bamboo cup, the candle offers a clean, long-lasting burn of up to 25 hours with no synthetic additives.
Beeswax Food Wrap
The Highland Harvests beeswax food wrap is a sustainable, reusable alternative to plastic wrap, made from cotton, beeswax, and plant oils. Ideal for wrapping snacks, produce, or leftovers, it is biodegradable and helps reduce waste. The compact roll, packaged with a minimalist paper sleeve, unfolds to reveal care instructions and usage tips.
Kit Packaging
The Highland Harvests packaging embodies Karuna's commitment to sustainability and natural elegance. A raw cardboard box holds each item, secured by a rough-textured kraft paper lock inspired by Tai Dam textile traditions. The lock also carries essential product details. Inside, the products are arranged in minimal, intentional wells.
I had the privilege of developing this packaging kit concept with Yen, the founder of Karuna. After refining the design, I traveled to Hanoi to present it to her in person. Yen responded positively, and we are now exploring ways to implement the new visual direction, with the potential to bring Karuna's products to the U.S. market.
Process
The production process involved sourcing and crafting each product component by hand. The beeswax candle cup was shaped on a lathe before being filled with melted beeswax. The outer kit structure was laser-cut from E-flute cardboard, while the kraft paper overlay was also laser-cut, assembled, and glued by hand.