"A package is like a stageplay." Peng's 2007 "Trip View Bowl" design for Kuanhsi Township in Hsinchu County is the most labor-intensive work he has produced to date. An avid cartographer from childhood, Peng drew an intricate map of his hometown featuring scenic spots, famous old stores, and regional topography on the inside of a porcelain bowl 12 centimeters in diameter. The manufacturing process was a throwback to the old craft of etching: draw, carve, and print. First, he took panoramic photographs of Kuanhsi and its environs. Then, he used Google Earth 3-D micro-mapping technology to produce a model with a sweeping bird's-eye view. He then had to search long and hard to find a ceramics factory he thought could best reproduce the complex layers and dimensionality of the underglazing. He ordered the production of 2000 units, each with its own serial number, to be sold as collector's items. In the future, Peng plans to produce similar products showcasing regions throughout Taiwan. (left photo by Jimmy Lin)

As a designer, Peng Hsi-yi may not have revolutionized the way Taiwan's agro-products are packaged, but there's no questioning the deep respect and understanding he has for country life. After all, from an early age growing up in Hsinchu County's Kuanhsi Township he watched his family cultivate tea, and he himself would accompany his grandmother, a steel pail in his young hands, on trips to the market to buy grass jelly.

Peng is 38 years old and a graduate of Chinese Culture University's Fine Arts Department. Since opening his own studio in 2003, he has been using his creative talents to revitalize the presentation of traditional local products such as nougat, pineapple cakes, grass jelly, and Hakka pickled vegetables.

The last character in his name, "yi," is an archaic character meaning "art" or "craft" whose shape suggests a person kneeling down tilling the fields with a hoe. When producing his designs, Peng wants to do more than infuse the product with artistic sensibility-he strives to enhance its commercial appeal. He feels that a good design is "one that strikes a chord with consumers and keeps the revenues flowing into the manufacturer's bank account."

A 900-gram ceramic container of dry daikon radish is secured in place by a frame made of tightly compressed recycled wood shavings that allows consumers to view the product and the wording on it. On the top of the frame's four corners are rattan-style paper cords that make for easy carrying.

Whenever Peng introduces this particular design at talks, he makes a point of suddenly pretending to throw it on the ground, to the gasps of the bewildered audience members. Then, breaking into a self-satisfied grin, he explains that, thanks to the effectiveness of the rope handle on top, this playful little act hasn't cost him a single article yet-the only drawback is that people can only carry one in each hand! But when people carry them about, the design's transparence offers a glimpse of the brand, which is effective, in-the-moment advertisement.

The aforementioned radish container, produced for Guo Jia Zhuang Hakka Pickles, is one of three designs that won awards at this year's German iF Communication Design Award. The second design is for Uncle Huan Mustard, and uses cardboard packaging on which are printed pretend reviews praising the product-an affectionate reference to the quaint countryside practice of wrapping pickled veggies in newspaper. Finally, there is his design for CHAngrila Green Tea, in which the organic green tea is contained in miniature woven baskets that are small-scale versions of the baskets used by traditional tea harvesters.