Before & After: Guinness Draught

JKR has redesign Guinness, old on the left, new on the right:

"On this historic day 250 years ago Arthur Guinness signed the lease on his Dublin brewery. Today this will be celebrated by the brand on a global level with parties, charitable funds and special packaging all part of the mix.

This week also sees the launch of overhauled packaging for Guinness Draught in can by jones knowles ritchie (jkr). jkr were challenged to produce an eye-catching can which evokes positive associations to the iconic brand – simply, to make a good pack great. 

The team elected to do this via a full-blooded use of the traditional harp emblem. This approach has resulted in a single-minded design which better acts as a  “badge in the hand”.  

In research the findings were conclusive - the new design increases quality perceptions via deceptive simplicity and is significantly more noticeable on shelf than its competitors."

Comments

[Nev]

Is it me or is this rather less appealing than the previous design? It looks like a can of cheap cider!

[Emma]

Nev: I agree but maybe if they had kept the lines over and under "guinness draught" it would've been different?

[Mads Jakob Poulsen]

I like the hierarchy of the new can layout, but where is the appetizing creamy foam line on the top? I thought this was/is actually more of a trademark than the harp is

[Giulia]

I prefer the design of the old can. It says "beer" a lot more immediately than the new can does, though the subtle tweaks to the new logo are a nice improvement.

[Ben]

I love the simplicity of the new can but I agree that maybe they could've kept the lines above and below the text.

Guinness isn't marketed as 'beer' - it's not beer. It's marketed for its quality, and I think the new can suggests that.

[ben]

wot no head!

[CAT]

You can't mess with perfection.The old can said 'draught quality' perfectly.The new can abandons this in favour of being iconic, probably at the request of the client.What other equity is there to leverage other than the Harp?It's big but it's not clever.Looks less premium too.Typically unnecessary JKR blingy graphics on the Harp get my thumbs down.

Consumers will no doubt love it.

[Andy]

The 'before' image is not actually the most recent iteration of the draughtcan. For a few years at least, they have been packaged in a can with a similar design to the 'before' image (albeit without the awesome cream-colored head), but with the new typography and logo seen on the 'after' image.

[url]http://www.casss.gr/KioskImages/48/Guinness_can_440ml.jpg[/url]

This link is actually my favorite draughtcan, for it is very premium looking, it is very simple and the updates made to the type and logo were just perfect. The new can is just okay.

[jompydoodle]

It's called "Guinness", not "Harp". Awful. Awful. Awful.

[reece]

Who drinks Guinness from a can anyway?

[Nic]

SO agreed with everyone here. Validates my own opinion of the new ugliness. To have the opportunity of re-designing something iconic and coming up very, very flat is pretty lame.

[Nic]

By the way jompydoodle, well said.

[ant]

can someone please share their opinion on the paul smith cologne packaginag a page or two back.

Do you think it's ok that their cologne has the same name as another in the same industry, fashion. Is it just a coincidence? I'm really annoyed by it.

[ballookey]

The other half of a Black & Tan is Harp Lager. Why would they create this confusion within their own brand? Now Guinness and Harp are less distinguishable from each other. One says "Harp", the other has a really big picture of a harp.

[phatJayG]

looks like an energy drink. not a fan. i don't like the new humanist font either.

[Ivy]

Why? Why change for the sake of change? It was iconic for a reason. The "updated" harp is also all kinds of awful.

[Jon]

She should stick to writing Harry Potter books.

[flo]

I think the new design is awesome.It heroes the brand and therefore helps nurturing it and growing its identity.The brand is the most important part of a packaging. You don't need to shout "fizzy drink, etc ' in a bottle of coke!! the same way, you don't need to have any reminiscence to the creamy head nor to any other product feature in a Guinness can.I like this type of package design; it shows respect for the consumer, in the way of not underestimating their intelligence by giving them loads of info about the product itself. No need, the Guinness wordmark and Harp are strong enough to convey these messages and trigger these images in consumers' minds: the creamy head, the black stout, etcetc.What else do you need...? Clear, simple, modern and respectful: of the brand and the consumer.

[FRANK]

Hey Catwhat have you got against consumers?sounds to me like alot of you aren't getting enough head