Steep into the world of tea at the Cha Cha Festival, a new immersive celebration inspired by tea and its rituals. Presented by Water Street Projects and timed to the Lunar New Year, the inaugural edition of the free public event took over the 40,000 square foot exhibition at community space at the WSA building in Lower Manhattan for four weekends in February 2025. Pentagram’s Natasha Jen and team designed a brand identity and promotional campaign for the festival, drawing inspiration from vernacular graphics found in Asian culture.
In addition to being a martial arts legend, Bruce Lee was also a cha-cha dance champion and a lifelong tea lover. His trailblazing energy is the north star for the Festival, amplifying AAPI creatives through the lens of tea culture. Conceived by the cultural leader and creative strategist Karen Wong, the event features tea houses by five artists and designers representing five culturally significant Asian teas. These installations explore tea’s myriad forms––aroma, texture, color and flavor––and the history, aesthetics and ritualistic significance of tea, along with its social and cultural importance. The event also features food vendors, exhibits on traditional Chinese medicine, and a community mahjong table.
The commissioned design teams include the mother-daughter architectural team Toshiko Mori and Tei Carpenter (designing the hojicha tea house); Shannon Lai from the landscape firm Studio Lily Kwong (lotus tea); furniture and product designers Chen Chen and Kai Williams (pu-erh tea); architectural designer Areesha Khalid (chai tea); and creative technologists Aaron Santiago and Michaela Ternasky-Holland (oolong tea).
The Festival identity nods to the visual cacophony of signage found in the streets of Asian cities. The Pentagram team developed the social media campaign and designed environmental graphics for the tea pavilions and the Cha Cha Bodega, the Festival store. Logos for each of the tea houses appear in abstract frames that reference signs, combined with vintage illustrations. Typography is set in the high-impact Bandit.
