Does he ever sleep? Designer Filip Yip has created countless stunning package designs, logos, characters and brand assets over his acclaimed career, and now in his ‘spare time’, he’s created a product that’s just as beautiful. Last month Nous Tea made its debut, inspired by Filip’s lifelong love of tea and a fortuitous reunion with an old friend.

Filip’s latest work, inside and outside the package.

On a visit to his native Hong Kong, Filip and a high school friend brainstormed ideas to combine their passion for natural health with their business acumen. A third partner brought Chinese Medicine expertise to the table. “It’s very personal. This is almost performance art for me,” says Filip. “I get to combine design and business. And everything is real: real people growing real organic teas, real NGOs, and of course, real intentions.” An impressive 10% of sales from the teas support NGOs in the regions where the tea is sourced.

“This is almost performance art for me.”

Of course, for Filip, no matter how fulfilling the product inside the box, a top notch design was required for outside. “I went through 6 full visual architectures,” he says. “It actually wasn’t hard to come up with something I like. It was hard to guess what consumers would like.”

Even the box tops received rigorous design TLC.

You can judge for yourself – Nous Teas are newly available online and coming soon to restaurants and retail chains. And rest assured, Filip won’t just be sitting around sipping tea. He’s already on to his next design adventures – some hush hush identity work for a major airline, as well as assets for Anheuser Bush/Miller beers.