CHAGEE U.S.
grand opening

For CHAGEE’s U.S. debut at Century City Mall, we were tasked with bringing the brand’s ethos—Connecting the World Through Tea—to life through an immersive and impactful grand opening experience.

Merging tradition with modernity, the activation led guests on an interactive journey inspired by the historic Tea Horse Road, reimagined in a bold, contemporary context. From toile-making stations and a 360° CHAGEE cup to storytelling visuals and sampling bars, every touchpoint was crafted to spark curiosity, inspire connection, and celebrate the arrival of this modern tea house in Los Angeles.

  
    Client:
    CHAGEE
  
    Agency:
    Optimist Inc.
  
    Role:
    Creative Direction, Art Direction, Graphic Design

Design approach

Chagee’s first U.S. store launch needed more than a visual identity, it needed a story that connects cultures through tea. We focused on the journey from leaf to cup, using it as a narrative thread to bridge Yunnan’s tea terraces with LA’s cultural landscape. Large-scale toile illustrations, inspired by the brand’s visual guidelines, wrapped the walls to depict this journey. Eastside LA featured hillside homes, the 5 Freeway, and Griffith Observatory, while the Westside showed Santa Monica Pier and oceanfront landmarks. This dual-sided layout mirrored the convergence of East and West, blending heritage with place through design and storytelling.

Eastside meet westside LA

Getty Museum

Visual World

Trading

Pacific Ocean

Brewing

Local landmark

Social Sharing

Silverlake

Pasadena

Hillside houses

West Coast

Extracting

Generative AI integration

To expand the visual library for the event, we needed a fast solution with limited branded graphics and a tight timeline. We turned to generative AI to help create original toile-style illustrations that brought the story of Eastside LA meeting Westside LA to life. The illustrations were refined, converted into vector files, and printed at scale to fully wrap the structure and transform the space into an immersive brand world.