The tradition of regional specialty products in Korea has deep historical roots, with documented records dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. Building upon this legacy, local governments across the nation have actively promoted regional specialty produc...
The tradition of regional specialty products in Korea has deep historical roots, with documented records dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. Building upon this legacy, local governments across the nation have actively promoted regional specialty products as a strategy for revitalizing local economies, often in conjunction with region-specific festivals and events. Within this context, the package design of regional specialty products has gained increasing importance. As exemplified by Japan’s Tokyo Banana, which achieved widespread popularity through its distinctive and appealing packaging, emotionally engaging package design can transcend its functional role and serve as an independent source of product value. Against this background, this study undertakes a comparative case analysis of regional specialty product packaging in Korea and Japan, with particular attention to visual expression methods and color usage. The analysis shows that illustration-based expression is the most widely used approach in both countries. Despite this commonality, notable differences are observed in secondary expression methods. Korean packaging tends to rely more heavily on photographic imagery, whereas typographic expression is more frequently emphasized in Japanese regional specialty packaging. Regarding color usage, Korean regional specialty product packaging generally adopts a narrower range of colors compared to Japanese examples. As a result, Korean packages often present more restrained and homogeneous color schemes. Based on these findings, the study proposes two main directions for the future design of regional specialty product packaging. First, it highlights the importance of color-oriented visual strategies and typographic expression as core design elements. This suggestion is derived from the observation that pictorial imagery in Korean regional specialty packaging is often repetitive and limited in its ability to communicate distinctive product attributes. By minimizing or deliberately excluding imagery and instead employing simplified and minimal visual compositions, packaging designs that focus on color and typography can more effectively attract consumer attention and reinforce product recognition. Second, the study recommends the development of product-type-specific color strategies that enhance associative and symbolic meanings by reflecting the inherent characteristics of the products. For agricultural specialties, fruit products are suggested to utilize color schemes based on red, orange or yellow, purple or violet, and green, while leafy vegetables are advised to adopt palettes centered on green and white, beige or craft tones, and lime or yellow hues. In the case of livestock specialty products, fresh meat items are recommended to employ combinations of burgundy or wine tones with black, whereas processed meat products are better suited to brown and gold color schemes. Finally, for marine specialty products, fish-related items are suggested to adopt deep navy or deep blue as primary colors, while seaweed products should use teal or deep green, complemented by white and silver as accent colors.