box vox

Cream-Nut Makeover

2010-02-09T08:49:08-05:00

Following the thread from yesterday’s u-bet post... the second product I’d been holding hostage on my desk was a new jar of Koeze’s Cream-Nut (Crunchy) Peanut Butter on the right.

While Cream-Nut was never a full-on example of the “u-bet” effect, it was the subject of an earlier post about the modest and comforting charms of its existing label (despite less-than-optimal typography) and the potential hazards of changing it.

Well it now appears, that they have changed it and its fine. Potential hazards avoided. The same basic colors, rearranged a bit. Maybe the new dominant black background gives it more of that high-end artisanal peanut-butter thing. (That, at least, is the theory of black food packaging.) A bit more metallic gold than before. Not a problem. (See: Gold Bar Packaging) I don’t know who did the redesign, but I think they did an excellent job maintaining that essential Cream-Nut feeling.

Interestingly, company head, Jeff Koeze maintains a blog where he talks about business and other peanut-butter-related topics. (Such as: 60s rock band, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy)

I thought his take on marketing firms was pretty brilliant. (And funny.) Excerpt below:

The thing I hate most is being asked “What is your budget for this project?” Or, worse yet, “What is your marketing budget overall?”

I always answer the same way: “My budget is unlimited. If you can generate (and measure) positive ROI on this project and any future projects there is literally no limit to what I will spend. As long as your ideas keep making me money, the budget just keeps growing.”

Jeff Koeze
What Wrong with Marketing Firms

(Some earlier Cream-Nut packaging, after the fold...)

Photo via Gourmet (a good article there)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

u-bet: je ne se qua

2010-02-08T09:02:46-05:00

Cruel father that I am, a couple of months ago I acquired two foods that are quite popular around here, but instead of putting them into general circulation in the family cupboard, I kept them on my desk. After an interminable 2-month consumption-embargo, I finally got around to photographing them this weekend.

One of these foods was Fox’s U-bet Original Chocolate Flavor Syrup. Popular, because you can use it to make chocolate egg creams, but what is there to say about its package? There were other chocolate (flavored) syrups on the shelf, that doubtless would make fine egg creams. Why was this the brand I purchased? Clunky and typographically awkward. Some unidentified Shirley Temple-ish child featured in the logo—(the Wendy of her day?)

There would seem to be little here for a contemporary package designer to love. Why would I—why would any consumer buy a package like that?

In groping towards a working theory to explain its apparent sales success, I asked myself, “if a product has packaging that looks like it hasn’t been changed in 50 years and is still being produced and sold, what does that say about the product?”

Maybe it says: this product is very good and—despite the packaging—there are a great many loyal customers who know it.

I think that may come close to it. A graphically unsophisticated package will sometimes be given not just the benefit of the doubt, but an assumption of quality and ‘authenticity’, not generally afforded to the slicker, more mainstream corporate packaging efforts. Am I over-thinking it?

There’s a Flickr group devoted to hand painted “folk typography.” Is the u-bet bottle folk packaging? The DIY ethos of an earlier era—Mom & Pop cottage industry packaging? Or Is it merely kitsch packaging?

In a post on BoingBoing—(See: Hyperbolic Bronnerianism in Graphic Design)—Xeni Jardin focused on the typographic overkill of certain packages: “... crazy mushed up text with LOTS OF ALL CAPS! BOLD! I-T-A-L-I-C ! Nnnnnooooo negative space! on product labels.”

“Hyperbolic Bronnerianism” might be a subset of the category I’m attempting to describe, but not all of my examples would be so overblown. U-bet may be typographically unsophisticated, but it’s certainly not the cacophony of styles that Jardin is talking about.

Perhaps it’s naïve packaging? There’s a book out called Naive: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. The examples contained are charming and vintage, but, to my eye, not unsophisticated.

Regarding vintage graphic design and “naïveté” Michael Bierut writes,

It is tempting to call designs of this era naïve. But I don’t think so. Not these designs. It would be, I think, incorrect to call Paul Rand’s Bab-o cleanser container naïve. It had a kind of knowing beatnik look... The main differences between those old packages and the one we have today is style... Technology is style.

via: The Package Unseen

Sometimes, it’s the small regional products that have this “u-bet” characteristic. I know it may sound culturally arrogant, perhaps imperialistic, but, here in the U.S.A., if I stroll with my cart down the “international aisle” of my super market, I can usually find quite few packages with that u-bet je ne se qua.

Says Durban-based photographer/graphic designer, Garth Walker (about the orange bag of Nyala Super Maize Meal, on right):

This remains the best example of South African packaging that I’ve yet seen and it should be enshrined in bronze above every designer’s Mac. It falls into that “lost” category of local graphic design in which, like so many local brands we love and adore, the designer is unknown. Probably a “lowly designer” (in the days of Magic Markers and Letraset) working in the studio of one of our über packaging or printing companies. “Creative” was probably not mentioned in the brief nor in the presentation to client. However, it’s truly local, relevant, striking, unique and long-lived—a lesson to all of us trying to be “local is lekker” and build a brand through packaging. Oh, and I do have it on permanent display in our studio.

via: Design Indaba

At first, I was thinking of u-bet’s bottle as a sort of “outsider” packaging. Like outsider art: the work of some untrained packaging genius who follows none of the established design principles, but somehow gets it right, anyway. Perhaps done many years ago by the company’s founder (or an unschooled relative) and then left unchanged. Benign neglect packaging?

The thing is, while I don’t really know how long the U-bet Chocolate Syrup label has looked like this, I do know that it didn’t come in this type of bottle when it first came out in 1942.

(See the earlier U-bet bottle, after the fold...)

A fox-shaped bottle. That right: Package as Metaphor (Part 6). The package is a little animal that we identify with. (Or at least you did if you were U-bet’s founding owner, Herman Fox.)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Yoav Kotik's Precious Metal

2010-02-06T12:16:57-05:00

More jewelry of the handcrafted-from-actual-packaging type: Yoav Kotik’s rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendents made from metal bottle caps.

I’m interested in how he manages “raise the bar” on the perceived quality of this jewelry—(made from recycled bottle caps, after all).

On the one hand, his “Precious Metal” collection exploits the pop branding of the source product—(and gains some of the commercial appeal, inherent in the colors and logos of beverage packaging)—on the other hand, his jewelry seems somehow classier and more tasteful. This may be partly due to the photography and the use of precious metal settings, but there’s also evidence here of an artistic sensibility above and beyond the idea of consumers electing to wear brand-name badges (ironic or otherwise).

Some of the logos are cropped and truncated, making them almost abstract. The red ring, above (top, center) has no logo at all—just “100% Pure” and some incomplete “product use” instructions. While this still conflates our sense of ourselves with the products we use—(what does it mean for the wearer to be “100% Pure”?)—it’s not so brand-specific in this case. Not like saying: “I’m a Diet Coke girl,” which is, in effect, the message of a lot of the other pieces.

(Earrings and necklaces, after the fold...)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Bottle & Jar Shaped Packets

2010-02-05T09:15:03-05:00

I noticed these jar-shaped Nutella packets—(top photo via: Notchet’s Flickr Photostream)—at a grocery store in Rome. (Did I mention I was in Rome a couple of weeks ago?)

Then today I saw this bottle-shaped Heinz Ketchup packet. (Photo via: Heinz Ketchup press release)

Makes sense that packets should reference whatever form of packaging is most associated with the product. As if to say, “Within this packet: the same trusted product you know from the bottle.” Or jar.

(More Nutella & Heinz packet pictures and video after the fold...)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Buckfast Blowback

2010-02-04T08:42:05-05:00

Photo by Kieran Dodds via: The New York Times

Some packaging-related content in an article in today’s New York Times...

Paralleling Russia’s battles with alcoholism—(see: Soviet Anti-Alcohol Campaign)—Scotland’s drinking problems are prompting legislation to try and curb alcohol consumption and its attendant bad behavior.

Unfortunately for Buckfast, the popularity of its caffeine-fortified “tonic wine” (with consumers in this market) also makes it a prominent symbol of a social problem.

...the police in the depressed industrial district of Strathclyde recently told a BBC program that the drink had been mentioned in 5,638 crime reports between 2006 and 2009 (the bottle was used as a weapon in 114 of them)...

Legislation to curb drinking is of particular interest here in Scotland’s old industrial heartland, or the “Buckfast Belt,” where Buckfast is considered a regional favorite. The drink is so ubiquitous in this working-class town, not far from Glasgow, that some people call it Coatbridge Table Wine (others call it “loopy juice,” or, adding their own twist as they channel Travis Bickle, “Who’re you lookin’ at?” wine.) Buckfast is no newcomer to the market, having become popular in the first half of the 20th century, when it was prescribed by doctors for down-in-the-dumps miners and sold in drugstores.

One person’s helpful mood improver, though, is another’s worryingly effective stimulant. The drink is 15 percent alcohol by volume, a bit stronger than most wines. Also, each 750 milliliter bottle contains as much caffeine as eight cans of Coke.

For Scots, a Scourge Unleashed by a Bottle
By Sarah Lyall, NY Times, February 3, 2010

Interesting that—(like Vimto)—Buckfast began life as a health tonic. Sometime (when there’s time) boxvox must do a round-up of other contemporary products that began as Victorian patent medicines. (Like Coke, for instance.)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Gold Bar Packaging

2010-02-03T09:02:39-05:00

Paca Rabanne’s “1 Million” men’s fragrance (top row via PopSop); second row, left: Donna Karan’s “Gold” (by Laird+Partners); on right: James Martin’s “Limited Gold Edition” gift box containing 2 wine bottles (via PopSop); third row: Au Olive Oil can (via" the Dieline); on right: Rocawear 9IX “Gold Limited Edition” men’s fragrance; bottom: “chocolate amenities” packaging for Mariott Hotels & Resorts by Miller Creative

Following up on the gold thing from our previous post: gold bars.

A lot of luxury packaging employs metallic inks and gold foils to get across the idea that the product contained is a valuable commodity. While stores are not meant to be like Fort Knox, sometimes packages are designed to resemble gold bars. And just as the world’s supply of minable gold is limited, so too, many of these products are only made available on a “limited edition” basis.

(A possible pitfall to this approach, after the fold...)

While we enjoyed Progesso’s packaging-related TV commercials, at least one recipient of this “Gold Standard” promotion was disappointed when the contents did not match the high-end, luxury expectations usually associated with gold bar packaging.

(via: Serious Eats)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Two Golden Packages

2010-02-02T08:29:19-05:00

Two golden packages: Helena Rubinstein “Gold Future” eye reviver cream jar (top) and Hennessy’s “Paradis Horus” Cognac bottle (below).

Freedom of Creations’ design for the “Gold Future” eye jar includes a flexible nylon helix that encases a smaller gold jar with a cap.

Ferruccio Laviani’s design for the “Paradis Horus” Cognac bottle includes an over-sized stopper that frames the bottle in a stylized overflow of golden liquid. (More images at Design Boom.)

Although gold packaging is pretty typical for luxury goods like cosmetics and liquor, the timing of these two recent packages may seem counterintuitive, considering the current economic climate. Why flaunt the golden excess of luxury packaging at a time when Wall Street is getting so much criticism over excessive bonus pay?

It may be, however, that this is the perfect time for golden packaging. The name “Gold Future,” while sounding luxuriously optimistic, is also a pretty unambiguous reference to the “safe haven” investment strategy of buying gold during times of economic instability.

Running against the trend to lighten packaging—(and its carbon footprint)—both of these designs use extra materials to create an illusion of solid gold plasticity. For the eye cream: a flexible golden skin that can be peeled off in a coil. For the cognac: a simulated geyser of golden liquid that can be popped off like a cork.

(via Lovely Package and PopSop)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Cans Without Labels

2010-02-01T08:13:11-05:00

Animator/cartoonist, John Kricfalusi tells an interesting autobiographical story about his dad’s motivation to buy all the “cans without labels” from their supermarket. His “George Liquor” character (above) plays the thrifty father figure. Below, John K tells the story in his own words.

It’s telling that, in order to “pitch” his project, Kricfalusi relies both on his skills as a raconteur as well as a cartoonist. Naturally, I dig the packaging-based story line (dramatically highlighting the importance of labels!) I also like the Ren & Stimpy-ish glee that Kricfalusi shows in George Liquor’s face as he demonstrates his deeply flawed method of sussing out the contents of the unlabeled cans.

(More “Cans Without Labels” artwork from John K., after the fold...)

(See “Part 2” of John K’s “Cans Without Labels” pitch: here)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Milk Carton Postcards Project

2010-01-30T07:48:00-05:00

From Malaysia-based design firm, Grass Studio: a series of die cut postcards for Dasein Academy of Art that fold into miniature milk cartons.

As Dasein’s marketing communication demands more from postcard designs but production budget keep shrinking, we decided to recycle this die cut block & extend the idea into other low budget greeting occasions. Turns out, the project became a collection series that is highly sought after.

(One more photo, after the fold...)

(via: Grass Report)

And, while these packages do not actually contain anything, using milk cartons to help promote an art school—(rather than milk)—might be considered another form of cross-category packaging.

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

As Seen on TV

2010-01-29T08:37:50-05:00

Blister-pack/clamshell wrap rage is old news, but Larry David manages to give it a terrifying new geopolitical spin when (in Season 7, Episode 2 of Curb Your Enthusiasm) he asks, “What am I, Mohammed Atta, I gotta get a box cutter?”

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Packaging Jewelry

2010-01-28T07:22:49-05:00

Pepsi can earrings from 824 Nothing More

Following the functional traditions of jewelry-as-container—(reliquary lockets of hair, perfume ampoule necklaces and the like)—it should come as no surprise, perhaps, that many consumers are continuing to adorn themselves with packaging jewelry. This includes both miniature CPG jewelry and jewelry crafted from fetish packaging parts (like soda can pull tabs).

Top row: some soda can charms and a “crushed” silver Budweiser beer can pendant; 2nd row, left: Maison Martin Margiela’s can tab ring (via: Hybrid Nation); on right: Jack Daniel’s bottle cuff-links; 3rd row, left: Alex and Chloe’s Can Tab pendent in 14K Gold; on right Colgate toothpaste tube earrings; 4th row: Dannie Glam’s “Candy in a Bottle” necklace; 5th row: Sidney Mobell’s 1990 “Diamond and Gold Sardine Can”; Bottom, left: George Estrella’s sterling silver “Sardine Can Pendant”; Bottom, right: Ricky Boscarino’s sterling silver “Sardine Can” with bronze key and copper fish

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Canned Underhylere

2010-01-27T07:50:25-05:00

More canned underwear—this one by Copenhagen-based designers, Helene Johansen & Kristoffer Jonsson. (Another cross-category, canned clothing pack.)

(One more photo, after the fold...)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Carrie Garrott's Bottle Chain

2010-01-26T08:31:42-05:00

From the Museum of Arts and Design: Carrie Garrott’s 2005 Bottle Chain. (Found glass bottles, dried flowers, string)

Smaller bottles than you might imagine from the photos. I thought they were full-sized mason jars, at first, but they’re actually miniature bottles. Each one is only 1-1/8 inches tall.

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Cigarette Pack Ashtrays

2010-01-25T08:42:07-05:00

From Black Market Antiques: an ashtray designed to resemble a Camel cigarette pack. The package becomes the ashcan. Acknowledging the “negative moment” when the cigarettes are all gone and you are left with only ashes and butts, this faux cigarette pack suggests ways in which genuine cigarette packs, might serve double-duty as ashtrays.

The ashtray above seems intended as a portable, pocket ashtray, but there are ceramic table top versions (below, left) that also strongly imply that the ashes should go back into the pack.

From Fitzsu.com, (above, right) another variation of this idea: a generic flip-top-box-shaped pocket ashtray. “An interesting object on its own” according to their web site:

In the shape of a cigarette box, this all aluminum ashtray is an interesting object on its own. Or used, it may be closed and carried to another location keeping ashes and butts off the street and in your portable ashtray.

Not surprisingly, this concept has been suggested (and patented) for use in actual cigarette packs, but for some reason has never caught on. Perhaps it’s a testament to the negative power of the post-consumer-moment, that consumers generally want to jettison their waste a.s.a.p.

(Another cigarette pack with built-in ashtray, after the fold...)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Sardine Can Compressor

2010-01-22T20:15:58-05:00

The Celmo “Sardine Can” Compressor...

(And the paperboard carton that it comes in, after the fold...)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Controller-Shaped Underwear Packaging

2010-01-20T07:39:00-05:00

Upper photo: from AsusEpoxy’s PhotoBucket; Lower photo from Aksys Nation! blog

Search online for “underwear” + “control” and what do you find? There’s women’s “control underwear” (AKA: “shapewear”—descendants of girdles). There’s men’s scent control underwear (for hunters).

And now: underwear for gamers—this one packaged in an X-box controller-shaped tin. (Other shapes too.) Game tie-in product licensing, run amok? Or is there something more behind this underwear-as-gamegear trend?

Consider JennyLC Chowdhury’s Intimate Controllers:

“Intimate Controllers” is a platform where video games are played by couples touching each other. The platform consists of two controllers, a bra for the female player and boxer shorts for the male player. Each controller is embedded with 6 sensors placed with varying degrees of intimacy in relation to the body part with which they correspond. Players must pass game levels together and in doing so, game play results in increasingly intimate positioning. The goal of this project was to research and create objects that challenge the traditional notions and orientation of video game play.

from JennyLC Chowdhury’s Graduate Thesis for
NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program

(An Intimate Controllers diagram, after the fold...) From JennyLC Chowdhury’s web site

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Milk and Orange Juice (Cartons as Skin)

2010-01-18T07:00:00-05:00

Two recent packaging-as-skin examples: Monor Dairy’s cow-hide patterned milk cartons (by Transylvania-based Vitrina Advertising) and a concept for orange-peel patterned juice cartons (by Bath-based Phil Harvey). (Via the Dieline and Packaging of The World)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design