Thursday, May 14, 2009
top fifteen typefaces
CHALLENGE
Each day, Americans throw out 60 million plastic bottles. Only 14% actually get recycled—
meaning 86% become garbage or litter. We looked at this as a radical problem requiring an
equally radical solution. Could we design a container that would leverage sustainability, be
easy to transport, and enhance the consumer’s drinking experience?
SOLUTION
The 360 Paper Bottle is a sustainable vision of the future. It is the first totally recyclable
paper container made from 100% renewable resources. Versatile in its range of consumer
applications and made from food-safe and fully recyclable materials, it decreases energy
consumed throughout the product life cycle without sacrificing functionality. It is paper
packaging that stands up to all liquid categories.
This earphone concept, Y I Sound Invention, features a zipping action to keep ear bud cords from tangling up when not in use. This ingenious design includes a volume control and brightly colored zipper teeth to help form follow function. When users are finished listening to their sound device, they simply zip up and put it away. Smart design for sure!
This wireless surge protector switch takes the chore out of conserving energy. Simply assign your electronic devices to the ‘always on’ or ‘can be powered down’ ports of this surge protector. Then, the next time you leave home, all you have to do is use the wireless switch that you mount next to your light switch to save on your electric bill. Simply brilliant!
Inspired by product
These products demonstrate true intuitiveness, inspired wholly by the product itself
The Crushpak
Found at Core 77, the Crushpak solves the problem of integrating a spoon into on-the-go food packaging. Pretty innovative, and it uses less plastic than a traditional pack!
10 innovative packaging ideas
The boutique beverage market is mature and extremely competitive, so you might think there are few really new ideas when it comes to packaging. You would be wrong. POM Tea has created something truly different. For a start the product itself is different – it is tea infused with pomegranate juice. But it is the packaging that is remarkable; the drink is packaged in a regular tall drinking glass with a lid and a clear shrink wrap label. It says on the label: Remove the label, keep the glass. In our local Wild Oats it retails for $2.79, not that expensive for a bottled tea, and you get a free glass. No need to worry about recycling here – you get to reuse the packaging.
2. Add a Little Extra to Your Packaging
Sometimes you can have very standard packaging, but stand out from the crowd by just adding a little twist to it. Amy’s Kitchen has done just that with their line of pasta sauces. It is a standard size jar with a standard color label that really blends in with all the other pasta sauce offerings. What sets them apart is the paper and gold bow over the lid of the jar. It looks like the way your grandmother would package it, and you can’t go down the aisle of pasta sauces without noticing it.
3. Make Design the Focus of Your Packaging
Most people think about the product first and the packaging second, but Method Products turned that equation around. They focused on packaging from the very beginning – they wanted to create packaging that was beautiful, that you didn’t have to hide in the cupboard. They created a premium line of cleaning products with packaging that you could display in the kitchen or bathroom like a home accessory. Just stroll down the aisles of any Costco or Target and you will see this focus on design really makes Method Products stand out.
4. Create Fun Packaging
Fun packaging doesn’t just have to be for kids, after all adults like to have fun, too. The bright colors and unusual shapes that dominate kids’ products can work in adult products, but usually a more subtle approach is better. One industry that has started to embrace a little more fun in their packaging is the wine industry. Just take a trip to the local liquor store and look at all the fun animals on wine labels these days. We have penguins, kangaroos, frogs, horses, swans and many more critters appearing on wine labels. We may not be ready for a penguin shaped wine bottle, but a colorful penguin label can add an element of fun and really stand out from the more conservative wine labels.
5. Let Your True Colors Shine Through
Candle-Lite is the goliath of the candle industry with over 160 years of continuous candle making operations. Their packaging is nothing fancy, just a candle in a clear jar, but the colors they choose are striking. They use bright colors, often with multi-layered candles and they let these colors shine through with simple clear jars. And a simple label on a white background accentuates the colors in the jar. On my local supermarket shelf their candles really stood out from the dozens of other brands.
6. Extend Your Labels with Sandwich Printing
If you are selling a clear liquid in a clear bottle then you have an option available to you that can give you more packaging space for very little extra cost. I am talking about printing on the back of your labels. You can’t put regulatory information on the back of your labels, but you can run contests, tell a story about your company, or give ideas about how best to use your product. It is a simple way to give your customers more information and not detract from the presentation of your package.
7. Try the Metallic Look
Most labels are printed on white or clear material, but there are many other options available to you. One look you can consider is using a metallic foil for your labels or packaging. With a good design the metallic look can be very striking when compared to the same design on white, and really isn’t that much more expensive. 8. Focus Your Packaging on a Specific Target
The Axe line of products from Unilever has a very specific target audience – young men aged between 18 and 35. So they built their packaging to appeal to that target. The package for the Axe Shower Gel looks like it could just as easily contain motor oil as shower gel. It is a thick molded black plastic container that has a rugged appearance that appeals directly to this demographic. Here is a product that has tailored not just the contents but also the packaging to their specific target market.
9. Merge Two Packaging Concepts
Another very competitive industry is the beer business, with the big players there always looking for an edge on their competitors. Last year Anheuser Busch came out with a completely new concept in packaging that ended up winning several packaging awards. The concept was so simple it is amazing no one had done it before. We all know beer comes in glass bottles and aluminum cans. What Anheuser Busch decided to do was just combine these two concepts and they came up with the aluminum bottle. It was different, it looked classy and eye-catching, and it was 100% recyclable.
10. Look to Nature for Inspiration
Nature has some amazing examples of “innovative packaging.” Consider the banana, the pea-pod, the kangaroo pouch, the pine cone – these are all examples of nature creating efficient packaging. Nature’s packaging is usually elegant and beautiful as well as efficient. There are shapes, colors and even packaging concepts that you can borrow from nature’s example. So next time you go for a walk in the woods, take a look around you and marvel at the innovative packaging created by nature.
The idea for this article is really to get you to think more about your packaging. Take one or two of these ideas and think about how they can be adapted to your product. If you focus on your packaging and create something that is unique to your company you will be more successful. Remember, your packaging not only has to contain your product, it is your final marketing message to your customers. Look at what your competition is doing and make sure you deliver a strong message with your packaging.
Copyright 2006 Peter Renton
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Nike Logo
Did the designer of the Nike logo get rich?
-----
The Swoosh
"The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in
1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess NIKE. Caroline
Davidson was a student at Portland State University in advertising.
She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she
started doing some freelance work for his company. Phil Knight asked
Caroline to design a logo that could be placed on the side of a shoe.
She handed him the SWOOSH, he handed her $35.00. In spring of 1972,
the first shoe with the NIKE SWOOSH was introduced.....the rest is
history! (from Nike Consumer Affairs packet, 1996)
Mattel vs. Bratz Dolls
Barbie vs. Bratz: Opening arguments begin in doll dispute
Mattel says that the creator of the Bratz dolls was its employee when he came up with the drawings for the toy, which brings in billions for MGA Entertainment.
It was tastefully attired Barbie vs. streetwise Bratz in federal court in Riverside today as opening arguments began in a copyright infringement case potentially worth billions of dollars.
The big issues: When were the Bratz dolls created? And was it in Barbie’s own house?
Mattel Inc., the El Segundo owner of the long-reigning Barbie empire, charges in a lawsuit that the creator of the upstart Bratz was in Mattel’s employ as a Barbie designer when he secretly made drawings crucial to the new doll’s concept.
The designer, Carter Bryant, defected in 2000 to MGA Entertainment Inc., a Van Nuys company that introduced Bratz in 2001.
MGA, according to analysts, makes as much as $2 billion a year from Bratz.
Mattel attorney John Quinn told a packed courtroom that MGA, which didn’t have a fashion doll in its lineup before Bratz, couldn’t have come up with the phenomenally successful product on its own.
How did it “suddenly, overnight become one of the innovative toy companies in the world?” Quinn asked.
“Simple. They took the designs from a Mattel designer.”
Mattel owns those drawings, Quinn said, and therefore a stake in Bratz, because Bryant had a contractual agreement to turn over any design “inventions” to the company while he was working there. Quinn charged that MGA knew of the contract and went to great lengths to cover up the true origins of the doll line.
MGA’s lawyers will make their opening argument in the civil trial this afternoon.
Mattel won a significant court victory in April when Judge Stephen Larson ruled that an agreement Bryant signed while at that company gives it the right to claim “ideas, concepts and copyrightable subject” he came up with during his employment.
Last week, Mattel said it had reached a settlement in its suit against Bryant. Terms weren’t disclosed, and it’s unclear what effect that settlement will have on Mattel vs. MGA.
Barbie, born in 1959, has fallen on hard times of late. In discussing first-quarter earnings last month, Mattel executives said that Barbie sales slipped 12% in comparison with the same period last year.
MGA is privately owned and doesn’t disclose its earnings. Judge Larson made it clear that Chief Executive Isaac Larian, who was in the courtroom for Mattel’s opening argument, would have to at least reveal figures for Bratz earnings.
“The bottom line is that information has to come out,” Larson said to MGA’s attorneys before the jury was seated.
Beautiful and Expressive Packaging
Typographic Packaging
Another example with typography in use. Sometimes all you need is just a title of what is inside the package.
Steampunk Packaging
According to designer, the task for this design was to pick a subculture and design a series of pictograms/logos & etc for it, and then apply said logo(s) to a package for a set of information cards about that subculture. Designed by Rovina Cai from Australia.
Brad Surcey (site is currently offline)
Strong colors and beautiful compositions. Notice how well the title of the product is emphasized, it strongly and clearly communicates what is inside without revealing too much unnecessary information.
Warming Little
Designed by Thirdperson, comprising a range of special winter soups with promotional heat resistant cardboard sleeves that slotted onto the existing cups. They’ve scooped a few awards, including Design Week 2008.
Ferrarelle
Clean minimalism at its best. Excellent packaging of a mineral water bottle.
Typography
Nothing can beat the old school typography.
Remarkable Pencils
Apparently, the 10 pencils packaged into this box are 100% remarkable. Well, at least they have a remarkable packaging.
Askinosie Chocolate
When it comes to the design of chocolate packaging, there are a number of options available. For instance, you can provide the package with some further information about the chocolate and give it a more traditional, historic and authentic look.
WH Smith
“Our brief was to create a compelling and inspirational solution. Because of copyright issues regarding artist’s work was a problem, our solution was to take inspiration from the though process behind how one paints and draws and to convey famous artists thoughts by choosing relevant quotes that captured the spirit of the product. We achieved this by commissioning different illustrators to recreate these quotes with the relevant use of materials.” Designed by R Design.
Askul
Original geometric forms can also be used for product packaging. And they are attractive, too!
Visualization of CI
Clean and slick design by Martin Zampach.
Food Packaging
Nice old times strike back. Louise Fili with a traditional, old-times food packaging.
Before Grain Dog & Cat Food
Well, it is the packaging for dog and cat food, but it just look good. Notice how interesting the typography is used — the letters are building a pyramid.
Vintage Packaging
This design is more than 20 years, but it still looks very impressive. Beautiful color scheme for a vintage t-shirt packaging.
Fuelosophy
Fruit drinks designed by Templin Brink Design combine beautiful illustration and an interesting form of the bottle.
Banana Juice
Well, that’s an original design. Banana juice package in form of a banana! Designed by Naoto Fukasawa.
Infuzions
Creative packaging by Parker Williams Design.
Equal Exchange
Designed by Good Digital Agency.
Typographic Packaging
Here the typography is pretty loud.
Tea packaging
Experimenting with typography.
Beck 8-Bit
One more time experimental packaging.
Fruits Packaging
Original packaging which may surprise and attract customer’s attention.
Afro Coffee Packaging
Afro by Dalla Cia: a Wine Box radio. Who thought that a radio on a wine label could actually work…
Chocolate Scrabble
Unfortunately, this item is no longer available.
Coke Vintage Packaging
Old times, old times. We really miss packaging like this.
Japanese packaging
Really original design.
Last Click
Package design for Turkish Delight
Sometimes packages can really communicate emotions. The intention of the design below was to attract children and provide sustainability instead of throwing it away after consuming this product. For this reason the package can turn into a paper toy. The children can put together the body which is inside the package, and the face.
Pio Pio Cheep Cheep
A sweet paper toy one more time.
Milk Boxes in Love
Yeeeah! He found her! Or she found him! In any case, these milk boxes are now together. When buying a next milk package make sure to buy two — for Mr. Milky and his lady. Milky has a sad history. It is nice to know that everything is fine now.
