DUNDEE artist Calder Chen’s designs will appear on Nescafé Azera tins across the UK, after he was selected as one of six winners in this year’s Nescafé By Design initiative delivered in partnership with The King’s Trust.
Calder’s limited-edition design ‘Human-Made Motion’ (Nescafé Azera Decaf Americano 135g) begins rolling out to supermarkets from today.
The design reflects Calder’s interest in classical animation. The artwork was created using traditional techniques, taking sketches back to pencil and paper.
He said, “It’s paying homage to a type of animation style that’s not very utilised anymore. A lot of the design is paper because it’s like, a kind of obsolete art form now. I’m also using a lot of like sepia tone colours, a lot of browns because that’s got a very nostalgic look. And it’s also reminiscent of coffee as well.”
The limited-edition tins form part of the partnership between Nescafé Azera and The King’s Trust, which aims to help young people gain confidence, develop skills, and access opportunities for work, training and enterprise.
Catherine Hutchinson, head of partnership management at The King’s Trust, said, “The King’s Trust partnership with Nescafe Azera, which began in 2021, offers young people an incredible opportunity and platform to share their design skills with a huge audience of coffee drinkers, as well as potential clients. For some of the winners, this will be the first time they have worked with a global brand. At The Trust, we know that gaining real-world work experience can be a challenge for some young people but is something they value. It helps to build confidence and can be life-changing. Congratulations and and well done Calder.”
As part of the experience, Calder visited Nestlé’s Tutbury factory in Derbyshire, where he saw his design brought to life on-pack for the first time before watching some of the first tins roll off the production line.
Clifford Stubbs, Nescafé Azera manufacturing manager, added, “One of the best parts of my job is seeing the surprise on people’s faces when they visit the factory for the first time, and it was a real pleasure to welcome Calder to Tutbury. Watching the tins roll off the production line and knowing it will soon be his design in shops across the UK really brought home what an incredible achievement this is. Everyone at the factory was delighted to be part of that moment.”
