Food Packaging: Time to Scream—Again

I have ogled some fun ice cream packaging before, but these more modern and clear designs have me with an aching sweet tooth. Even with the weather getting cooler I always crave big bowls of ice cream, sorbet, gelato...any frozen treat.

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Alcohol Packaging: Fox Barrel

My husband's mom works at a liquor store, needless to say we see a lot of booze in this house. Tyler usually likes to buy me bottles that have labels that I might enjoy, and then he considers flavor next. I don't like beer, but I do enjoy a boozy cider. Fox Barrel is naturally fermented pear cider with other natural juices mixed in for a different flavor. Some still taste a little too much like beer, but the Pacific Pear was my favorite. The simple design incorporates negative shapes, metallic inks, and embossed labels to make these ciders really stand out.

Hubert's Lemonade

It is probably no secret that I would buy objects just to collect the packaging. It is just fascinating to me to keep a physical reminder of designs  and interesting packing. This package hording has expanded its disease to my husband he come home from work on a warm day with a bottle of lemonade and said he had to buy it just because he knew I would like it (he liked it too but it is easier to blame me for this condition)

Hurbert's Lemonade. The lemonade is natural and tasty, and they invested in interesting to design to help you engage with their product. The cute lemon design is also given the extra detail of texture. Modern printing techniques have given designers and printers the ability to add texture and depth to our print designs, but most companies do not want to invest the extra cost to add this physical stimulation. Any fruit that is printed on the bottle is given the additional texture, emphasizing that the fruit and flavor is essential to this brand.

This company also embraced typography that is fitting to a nostalgic lemonade stand. Some will be offended by the use Helvetica as the simple accompaniment. I think it is a nice break from the exuberant energy of the "lemonade stand" font. The package is completed by the simple glass bottle with the clear labels letting the lemonade to show through.

Cookie Monster

Mamba Jamba was designed by Meg Eaton who received her B.A. in Communications Design from Syracuse University. She has lots of great designs on her website to check out.

TK Food Wheat cookies by victor branding

Mrs Fields were by HartungKemp or Ideas that Kick. They are the brilliant minds behind Bear River Valley cereal packaging, as well as caribou coffee, and even some Target packaging.

 

Eat Pastry is a raw and vegan cookie dough that you can bake or it is also same to eat right off the shelf.

 

Simple Cornish cookies: the packing was create to exude luxury while staying local. All the imagery is local coastal scenes by photographer Charles Roff.

Many of these modern designed cookie packaging come with unique cookie flavors for the modern palette. Manufactures and entrepreneurs are trying to find their place in the market and using design to achieve results in a crowded market.

Coke Goes White...and Then Back Again!

I was so excited at Thanksgiving to see my Coca Cola can had a white-out, a nice break break from the typical red. It was so striking that I actually checked the went to arctichome.com to find out what is the point of this special can. It turns out I am enjoying it almost too late. Coca Cola just announced that because of the backlash from consumers.

I will truly miss it. It makes Coca Cola feel more special, and it helps draw attention to the melting polar ice caps. I thought it was a smart choice by Coca Cola. A 3 color can has a beautiful simplicity that is very appropriate for the sparse modern style of today. Coca Cola backing down on these eco-friendly principles and going back to boring old red. Consumers fear of change has ruined this beautfiul can for me.

So do you love it or hate? 

Getting Inspired

My motivation has flown out the window lately, and I have been trying to get inspired:

• Mehmet Goetlik: minimalism

• Square One Design : Joe Coffee

• Pearlfisher: Jamie Oliver

• True Fruits

• Number Logos

LOVE: Bear River Valley

Design, pro-green, whole grains, and tasty! Bear River Valley offers it all. I fell in love with this brand when I was in the cereal aisle pondering granola bars and turned around and saw the display for Bear River Valley. Nice, clean, simple, and a pleasing color palette attracted me right away. Then I noticed that they use less packaging and supports wind energy, so BONUS! Then you get it home and enjoy some, and finally a product that you can get behind that doesn't taste like cardboard.

Design is simple yet fun with a rounded script and window to see the food product inside. Everything is matte and muted, which adds to the natural-side of this cereal. The names for each product are fun too like "Frosted Tumble Wheats" and "Marshmallow Avalanche". How can you not want to dig into a nice big bowl? The food is good for you to being full of natural ingredients and whole wheat it is a great start to the day or a snack in between.

Pull'n a Paula Deen

Life would be pretty flavorless without butter. Its creamy, when cooked browns food beautiful, and makes cakes scrumptious. Butter, unlike other dairy products, tend to have a plastic style (Land O'Lakes) rather than the vintage country style. I tried to pull more modern or craft tendencies. 

What I love about Pastureland Butter is the Woodblock-like quality that imbues in its illustration. This design was developed by Triangle Park Creative.

Justin's nut butter  has a design that is as trendy as our fondness for nondairy and non-peanut butters. It is beautifully done forever and fits the culture currently. But they will have to update their style when times change.

Clover Farmstead has a beautiful nostalgic feel, but I figure very expensive by the 8oz crock it comes in. but the design is friendly and sweet. I would love to get a taste for this organic butter.

CalonWen Butter is another organic butter product. The design is very simple, but I love the use of craft paper here. Type is modern and a little bit granola. The cow fits with the overall child-like design.

With all of these dairy posts lately my lactose intolerance is flaring up. I think I need to find a new subject to post about.

LOVE: Cheese

I have had dairy on the brain lately. This time I am all about CHEESE. Next to Ice Cream, cheese is my favorite kind of dairy. Cheese come a variety of flavors and textures, and most are delicious. And I am definitely not talking about your shredded cheese in a zipped up bag. Specialty cheese call for a specialty label. Whether that is the in the care of illustration, type or the label process, using these techniques help consumers know that this cheese is something special.

Divine Dairy redesign by Frank Aloi is really want inspired my new obsession with all things dairy label. A hint of vintage yet modern has made me salivate for these Australian cheeses. With most cheese labels coming in hues of tan, brown, orange, and blue I love the refreshing pop of vibrant magenta, orange, blue, red, and green. The traditional circle found on many cheese labels is still present but it's been given a new twist. 

Adir Dairy in the Upper Galilee region.

I have to give a shout out for Shatto Milk Company. The designers were from SHS a Wichita/Kansas City Company. I love their simplified approach to their product. Small circular labels, so that you know that CHEESE is the hero of this story. The color palette is pleasing and sophisticated.

Carriage Bistro by Tim McLaughlin

Sartori Cheese from Plymouth, Wisconsin. Somehow in my dad's off route adventures we have never been out to visit this cheese factory.  They have a variety of designs for their different levels of artisan cheese: classic, limited, and reserved. Personally I love the classic version best, but to each his own.

Nezinscot Farm

Cheese has typically included location that cheese was produced, but this Waitrose Cheese was the first to include county of origin in their design. 

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 SOME YUMMY VINTAGE CHEESE PACKAGING
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My Wish List

I am going to be a bit superficial today, and mention some beautiful things that I want, and are yet unattainable.

 

I found this DIY iPhone case while scouring the web. I would buy it for myself, if I had an iphone. 

 I love melon soda, too bad this is only sold in Japan. I could use a nice cool bottle of this in my fridge.

Ritter Sport Strawberry Rhubarb was a limited edition flavor during the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. A friend brought one back for me, but it wasn't enough I have looked around hopefully ever since. It would be worth the trip to Germany if I could guarantee that it would be there.

I have lots of large sheets of paper, posters, and art projects being stored underneath my bed. It is the largest flat area I have available to them, where they won't be stepped on. I would like some files to safely store my art projects, paper, and my Paper Source Japanese Papers.

Pantone has updated the color palette with more colors. I would like a physical sample of each color available in the Pantone rainbow.

What Wish List would be complete without puppies! I would love two little Siberian Huskies just like this! The day I have the space and ability to take care of puppies like this I will go to the Humane Society and pick up a puppy/dog that needs a home!

 With all my shallowness, I would not say  no to an end to world hunger, world peace, or even just an end to this heat wave. If you feel have anything you wish you could have? Leave a comment.

We all Scream for Ice Cream!

Well not everyone screams for ice cream, but I certainly do. I squealed at the delight of these beautiful Ice Cream packages. Every designer approaches projects differently. When creating packaging for ice cream there are several main components that come to mind first: specify flavor, brand, and personality. Ice cream seems to be one of those food products that are given the most personality. The packaging typically says something about the flavor type and who will typically consume the product. Bonanza Birthday, with its blue ice cream and funny little cartoon characters is not the same type of ice cream consumer that is enjoying Pomegranate Blueberry with Praline mix.

 

 

 

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THESE CONTAINERS GAIN PERSONALITY THROUGH PERSONIFICATION

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Many of these I found at TheDieLine.com. It is a wonderful place to look for all things packaging. One project that I recommend that you check out is Glacé, they are an artisan ice cream company that utilized two colors to their best advantage. Definitely simple and modern. It has a basis in good design and the little use of trendy elements could easily be replaced when the trends transform.

LOVE: Milk Packaging

Perhaps it's my family's Wisconsin roots, but I love dairy products and the packages that contain them. Although I don't like to drink milk, I do like things made with milk and these packages for milk. Dairy products tend to fall into the trend of nostalgia; I think this is due to the attempt to make the dairy brand seem old and have history to it. I find this trend more and more with the move again to milk glass jugs that you return to the store once you have finished your creamy beverage. There are more global brands of dairy that have been moving their milk and milk-like products to a more modern and simplified look.

 Shatto Milk company is from nearby Missouri (near Kansas City), and they new identity and packaging was designed by Sullivan, Higdon, and Sink (SHS). They are a Wichita/Kansas City Based Agency. The milk shines through these crystal clear bottles that are not bogged done with a lot of type and color. Its simple, and its always nice to show off a local-ish design and product.

Nezinscot Farm is a farm in Maine. This package has a whimsical design with a primative/drawn typeface and the informational type becomes the image of the grass theat the cows cosume. Very nice!

Forrest Milk a Japanese Milk Brand. I love the minimalism of this brand. The cows supposedly get to wander free in the forest. Their theory is that this will make happy cows and happy cows make happy milk!

 

Some modern milk containers from David Fung.

 

 Schroeder Milk has been redesigned by Capsule from a Bamboo design. Very nice and clean. I like the use of type weight and color to separate between the different fat content of the milk, so that you get the right milk every time.

 

A self initiated project by Audree Lapierre, a graphic designer in Canada, to show ingredient content large and with informational graphics. It is definitely something different.

 

 Arla Milk is a global company, but its headquarters are in Denmak. The company wanted to develop higher demand for milk drinkers of young (20ish) Swedish population. "A portable milk bottle that fitted the lifestyle of younger people on the go. In collaboration with PriPac Design & Communication." Very simple and modern. Use of color coding helps you pick the best milk for you.

 

I end this post with a non dairy milk. I have seen these happy designs smiling at me at the grocery stores, and I keep forgetting how much I love this new look for 8th Continent. Each container has its own color hues that help seperate flavors just as well as a singe color. Each flavor has its own character that is not only on the front of the packaging but is visible on the cap as well, and we know how I feel about caps. This is a very cheerful brand and I can't help smiling back.

Much of this packaging design can be found at TheDieLine.com: a fantastic website to find any and everything about packaging or TheLovelyPackage.