This project focuses on designing a fictional, limited-edition souvenir water jug for Yuinomori Dog Park Cafe, a real pet-friendly café in Japan owned by my godmother’s family. Known for its peaceful atmosphere, minimalist design, and beloved dog mascots, Sky and Rain, the café is a quiet retreat loved by both locals and travelers.
The jug was created as a thoughtful keepsake—an everyday item that captures the calm, warmth, and memories of a visit to the café. To complement the design, a fictional promotional video was made, not to advertise the jug directly, but to convey the emotional story and feeling behind it.
Together, the jug and video create a unified brand experience centered on serenity, memory, and visual harmony.
The goal was to create a high-quality souvenir that strengthens the emotional bond between visitors and Yuinomori Dog Park Cafe. The water jug acts as both a practical item and a meaningful keepsake, reflecting the café’s warmth and calm. Although the jug doesn’t appear in the promotional video, the video visually expresses the feelings that inspired its design. With gentle pacing, soft imagery, and scenes of dogs, people, and nature, it captures the peaceful spirit of Yuinomori. While separate in form, the jug and video are united in emotion, together telling a layered and heartfelt brand story.
The concept was shaped by a personal connection to Yuinomori and its mascots, Sky and Rain, whose gentle presence helped define the brand’s tone. This emotional foundation guided the creative direction from the start.
In early concepting, I explored traditional Japanese seasonal symbolism—especially cherry blossoms—as a metaphor for calm, renewal, and impermanence. The design language drew from Japanese minimalism, using soft colors, clean lines, and subtle beauty to evoke a sense of serenity. The goal was to create a "souvenir of serenity"—an authentic, meaningful item that reflects the quiet joy of spending time at Yuinomori.
The design process began with visual concepting in Photoshop, where early iterations of the jug’s form and color palette were developed. The final jug was rendered in Adobe Dimension using matte stainless steel in a soft sakura pink, chosen to reflect the gentle tone of spring in Japan. The brass lid introduces a warm, refined accent while staying consistent with the minimalist look. The café’s logo was applied subtly, preserving the clean aesthetic and making the jug feel timeless and intentional. Packaging was designed to complement the jug with a light blue box adorned with cherry blossom details and a transparent window that offers a preview of the product inside. A Tiffany blue paper bag stamped with the Yuinomori logo added an elegant, boutique-style touch to the full presentation.
The accompanying promotional video was created in Adobe After Effects, not as a direct product advertisement but as an emotional tone piece. It opens with atmospheric shots of the café's outdoor environment, showcasing dogs playing in open spaces, people relaxing with their pets, and natural elements like trees, light, and seasonal flowers. Sky and Rain appear in gentle, candid moments throughout the video, helping to establish a warm and familiar mood. Subtle motion graphics and royalty-free music with a soft tempo were carefully selected to build a consistent emotional rhythm. While the jug itself is not featured in the video, the overall visual language and pacing serve to represent the feeling that inspired its design—making the video a narrative companion to the product.
The project was brought to life using several key tools. Photoshop was used for detailed mockups, packaging artwork, and overall visual design. Adobe Dimension helped create realistic 3D models of the product and packaging.
Adobe After Effects was employed to produce the promotional video, which showcases serene scenes of the café, playful dogs, and relaxed social moments. While the jug itself does not appear in the video, the footage plays an essential role in setting the emotional atmosphere that inspired the jug’s design—conveying a sense of calm, connection, and community through its visuals.