Before & After: Häagen-Dazs

 

Sterling Brands gives a fresh new look to Häagen-Dazs. Check out the before and after below, and read about the new design.

"Nestlé Dreyers wanted to make its Häagen-Dazs brand more relevant to today while retaining its aspirational and super premium equity. The brand approached Sterling with the challenge of updating its packaging to appeal to a new generation while maintaining its distinctive visual essence of enjoyment without compromise.

We photographed the ingredients against a background of gold silk to accentuate the richness of the ice cream, while we used bright colors and abundant fruit imagery to show the refreshing quality of the Sorbet. We used a fresh, green background to dial up the frozen yogurt’s health attribute. Real food photography and gold accents throughout the line maintain the premium feel of the brand."

Before:

 

After:

Comments

[Dav]

Kool

[Ali]

Well, it is not genuine idea. it is based on a well-executed earlier version for Haagen Daz designed by Thompson Design. See for yourself:http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2009/02/häagendazs-five-ice-cream.htmlIt has quite a bit of shortcomings.

[paul p]

The 'before' picture in your post isn't accurate. There was a more recent design on shelf before Sterling redesigned.

The true before picture in your post should've been:

[Yael Miller]

I like how they moved the branded 'red' color to the lids and opened up/lightened the layout.

[Jake]

I like how this shows that redesign doesn't have to be flashy or something completely new/original to bring the desired results. Best of all, this still feels like Haagen Dazs.

[Felipe]

Looks like the fruits were found in a desert land. I did´t get the idea.

[The Dieline]

Thanks Paul, I have updated it!

[Jessi]

I agree. I don't think the gold silk comes through like they hoped it would. The blue and green seem a little generic to me as well.

[Mike Mizrahi]

I like it. I just don't understand that muddy brown texture behind the strawberry flavor and vanilla flavor. It seems to me the brighter colors work much better.

[Ian Rooney]

I think its always unfair to judge packaging design out of context of the retail environment and without knowing what was fully briefed. First impressions would suggest that it has shifted towards softer tones to provide a summer seasonal feeling to the product. Seasonal aspirations with compromise?... its hard to believe that the same kind of tones and language would be relevant going into colder seasons. The brand device has lost some impact it once had on a lighter background prior to these changes. The fresher and lighter Häagen-Dazs character suits the sorbets and the frozen yogurt’s health promise but somehow it doesn't evoke the rich Vanilla ice cream experience many relate to Häagen-Dazs.

Looking at packaging in isolation isn't ideal, so it would be interesting to see how this new design transfers across all other brand touch points. From a consumers perspective at this time of year its easy to see it in peoples baskets. From a creative perspective its gives an old stuffy brand some room to blossom and breathe.

[Cecilia]

Quite instantly I'm bothered with the font in use. It looks like the 'good-ol' default font Myriad (perhaps a matter of personal taste, but Myriad just make my skin crawl). The font used in the series by Thompson design is much more pleasant.

Also, but this could have to do with the mock-up quality, the pictures feels a bit like 'photoshop distaster' material. Using 'flat' photos with straight shadows are not very well suited for curved packaging in my opinion - it looks rather tacky and just, flat. The Thompson Design one has the same issue. There are probably plenty of successful executions of this issue, then I haven't paid enough attention.

I do agree with the comment about the red lids. It creates a more pleasant and smooth transition between jar and lid.



But all in all, this one is not a winner.

[SDN]

Agree with you Cecillia, the typeface looks default, there is no character to it.

Also, the brand panel loses out in the new design, they've taken away the drop shadow and embossed feel of the gold edging. I'm not convinced they have improved it..

[Hermis00]

The previous red background looked more premium, the new font is cute on its own, but somehow doesn't fit this packaging design... not that I like the old font either.

[Anthony Clayton]

It looked better before! it communicated better before. it was more on brand before.. etc etc

[challahdough@verizon.net]

Two things strike me immediately about the update-

1- We are growing out of the all too common bkgd 'wave' in design. They deleted it from the side of the pkg.

2-We have grown past the dropshadow-That was deleted from the logo too.

overall -This leaves an updated, clean fresh look. (I think)

[Molly]

Whats with the weird scaly patter? I know it was on the original package design, but it is so much more obvious on the newer designs....eck.

Okay Pros: Solid colors on the lids, good centered design, good phots

Cons: Color/Textures (weird), font, shadows

[Dave]

I think it's a nice refresh. It's got a clean modern look and still feels premium and yummy. Cecilia, you need to go back to font school. It's Gotham...duh.

[rmrw]

Agree with challahdough.

[PP]

Do you know what I really think? That probably with this new design I wont pick my favorite flavor, arrive home and discover that I brought a similar flavor, but not the one I really wanted. That was one of the problems with the Häagen-Dazs old design package: they all looked pretty similar and kind of confusing. So yes, this is an improvement.

[Joe Daley]

The new design is confusing & off-putting. Red is not a good color for ice cream. Haagen-Dazs is not a soup or a Smart Ones product. Gold is the right color for the Haagen-Dazs pattern, the gold cues me that it's a premium product that could be ice-cream. The new red Haagen Dazs pattern looks like brain tissue or a cardiovascular schematic. What am I supposed to think when I see that? Also big pictures of fruit & flowers look like yogurt. Isn't the european aspect a selling point. The Haagen-Dazs name (which was solely invented to sound Scandinavian) should be a major focal point. The new design is so busy with big fruit cornucopias and ridiculous color schemes that it doesn't have any european sense to it. The Haagen-Dazs Five container designs are really what the whole line should look like.

[Jon Weden]

The original design feels more premium. With the gold lids it also allows for a stronger "master brand" across all variants. I suppose if you want to become more "everyday" you have to make the design more ordinary, colorful and frankly busy. Too bad, I prefer the old design. The Häagen-DazFive sub-brand is a lovely "modern update" for the brand.

[Dori Burchat]

What a disappointment - I think this is horrible - weakens the brand, does not look refreshing, but old and dry. Ugh!

[Darryl de Necker]

I agree that the packaging should never be seen out of context, hence a shop where you buy the product. And having said that, why does so much focus get placed on the side of the packaging, when we see it from the top in a fridge when we buy the product. Yet nowhere does anyone place that as important, or even show what the top of the lid looks like.