TheDieline.com: Package Design

Message on the bottle

Message on the Bottle, a wine bottle and label design exhibition held as part of Design Festival Hamburg 2007. In total there were 70 contributions to the exhibition from designers in 16 countries. Message on the bottle ran from the 5th to 20th of October 2007. There are some 'dubious' ones there, but here are a few nice ones:

warming little things

Nusa kitchen in Clarkenwell, London.
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.

Buccella Wine

How to convey luxury in a wine bottle? A perfect example - the poetically simple wine bottles from Buccella Wines. 1- Limited color palette (jet black bottle, creamy white label and rich red seal). 2- Texture (glossy bottle, uncoated paper label and deeply embossed real wax seal). 3- Less is more (the only clues about 'who' and  'when' are the logo in the seal and the artful '2005' on the label).

Ange ou demon?

The theme of climate change and sustainability of packaging products is more and more took into account by brands, even by the luxury brands working in the business of cosmetics and perfumes.
Givenchy, as a pioneer, created a new concept for one of his best known essence: Ange ou demon is rechargeable!

Amazon Kindle

(image via NOTCOT)

The new Amazon Kindle wireless reader has received very mixed product design reviews. The box however, has received rave reviews. From the book-like opening, to the playful use of typography and the logo made out of letters, it has really hit the mark. As seen in the picture below, "kindle" means: to inspire, stir up. I love that they have visually demonstrated that on the package.

Edit: ToyNY - a NY ad agency created the packaging. Thanks, David. Nice work!

(above images via GearLive)

Honest Tea by Moxie™

Honest Tea just unveiled today a redesigned line-up of their teas in PET plastic bottles with a fresh new look hitting the streets across the country.

"To communicate the health and taste benefits to a wider audience, Honest Tea turned to Moxie TM, Inc., a New York-based brand design and development firm. "Because we wanted to distinguish the brand from the sea of color that appears in this category, we started with a clean white canvas," explained Tammy Vaserstein, Creative, Principal, Moxie TM. "In addition, white has the most impact on shelf within this category while communicating freshness and simplicity, whereas too much color says 'artificial' rather than 'organic', and a sliding bar graphic serves as a visual icon helping consumers understand how much EGCG is in each variety," she added."

"According to Moxie TM, the brand's existing equities were identified as the black border around the label incorporating the Honest Tea brandmark and the signature 'T.' "The black border creates an anchor across all of Honest Tea's product lines and we used the white area within the black frame as a clean palette where we could tell their story in a modern and fresh way," said Vaserstein. Clean and simple typography matches the brand's promise, and luscious fruit illustrations within each 'T' add to the fresh, organic appeal while standing out against the white background."

Country Girl vs. City Girl: Celestial Seasonings Critique

Celestial Seasonings brand identity was given the most extensive update in 37 years by Sterling Brands. I am a long-time admirer of Sterling Brands' packaging design and branding work, both of which I find very inspiring.

Yet, I have to admit that when Celestial Seasonings new boxes of teas hit the shelves, I was strangely disappointed. Someone like me who mentally redesigns packaging when scanning a store aisle (dark secret confession of a packaging designer) should have been delighted to discover her favorite brand of teas with a beautiful new face.

As a consumer of Celestial Seasonings for several years, I'd come to love the busy packaging with quirky little quotes on every flap and surface of the box, along with the fascinatingly detailed illustrations. The densely adorned panels of the Celestial tea boxes were what defined the authentic style of the brand for me - rich, flavorful, eclectic and cluttered like a warm vibrant country kitchen with the fragrance of freshly brewing herb tea.

According to an article in BrandWeek, the "packaging was redesigned to create a cleaner, modern look. What haven't changed are the inspirational quotes on the packages, for which Celestial Seasonings is known."

Along came the new brand identity - shiny, restrained, balanced and very in-step current design sensibilities (cleaner and more modern indeed). Somehow, the polished and poised new look of Celestial Seasonings failed to satisfy me as a consumer. It was as if an old friend you've known for years shows up at your place with a nose job and a totally new wardrobe - familiar yet unsettling. Is this the same friend you've always known?

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World Premiere: Little Me Organics

We are happy to share with you for the very first time, Little Me Organics. This beautiful line was designed by R Design, who was featured as a Studio Spotlight earlier this month This is a rebrand from the ground up for a popular a range of organic baby toiletries made from organic ingredients that contain gentle formulations and avoid synthetic fragrances. This will be found in over 300 stores across the UK. I love the colors, and the overall fresh & fun look, well done R Design!