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Duffy & Partners Holiday Wine
Every year Duffy & Partners comes out with a new wine bottle design to send out to their clients and friends for the holiday season. This year's design is above. Previous designs can be seen here. I was curious as to why it was 0% alcohol:
"This is where Duffy's creative process takes place. It's a non alcoholic wine and many states prohibit the mailing of alcohol via the postal or other shipping services. However, since it is not an alcoholic spirit, Duffy has been able to ship their beautifully designed wine bottles to their clients all over the world."
Beautiful design!
Studio Spotlight: Oh Joy! Studio
These beautiful candle jar labels for Urban Outfitters were designed in collaboration with Joya Candle by Joy Deangdeelert Cho of Oh Joy! Studios. She specializes in pattern and product design. You may have heard of Oh Joy! before from the popular Oh Joy! blog, which features great style and design inspiration. Joy's great taste is apparent in her blog and in her studio work, too. She has also recently launched a line of stationery products featuring her elegant pattern work called Nantaka Joy.
Recession Wines
These days everyone I know is cutting back. Yes, even those fancy pants packaging designers. Gone are the days of ostentatious holiday gifts, look-how-great-our-work-is parties and "we're moving" mailers. In fact, it seems like we're all going to be stopping by at art openings just for the free booze at the price of aahing over a couple of paintings (if we're not already).
Recession Wines blithely address the climate we're designing in and mix it up with a little sense of humor. There's nothing like calling a spade and spade. Even in a recession, we still need our little pleasures.
Thanks to Joanna Goddard for the tip
Billy Jealousy
Billy Jealousy is a men's hair and skincare brand with a bit of attitude. The approach is simple, clean and decidedly masculine. A small dragon icon gives the spare look a bit of flourish and personality. I think what may be the ultimate strength of this brand is the name. The word 'jealousy' makes you kind of wonder what that's about and it sure helps the name stick in your mind. The fragrance/variety names also aid in kicking in some personality in a very spare graphical system.
Like other premium male grooming brands like the successful Anthony range, a careful approach to design is critical to appeal to the target audience. Not only do men buy these products for themselves, but women are also part of the picture in that they may buy products like these for the men in their lives. In that sense, it's more difficult to brand a beauty range for men than women. If it's too 'pretty' it would seem 'unmasculine'; if it's too harsh or plain, it would feel uninspiring and flat.
Continue for more images.
Aquafina Alive
Yesterday while grocery shopping I couldn't help noticing the shiny labels on this new line of Aquafina products.
Aquafina Alive is a new line of "enhanced water beverages" from Pepsi Co. "Energize" contains caffeine, B-vitamins, and 0 calories. "Satisfy" boasts 10% of your daily fiber and only 10 calories. "Protect" is a 0-calorie source of E and C vitamins.
For me, the Alive "logo" is not particularly unique or interesting, but it does stand out. The colors differentiate the three different flavors/offerings well, and the benefits are called out simply but clearly. While the metallic labels certainly grab your eye, they're not very forgiving if applied poorly. (The orange Energize bottles I saw had some really bad bubbling.) Overall it's not bad, but I think a lot more could have been done with the Alive brand mark.
What are your thoughts?
(And sorry for the small images!)
Karpati nail care from Australia
Karpati nail care personally formulated and designed by Eva Karpati. A cool design offering real function in the bottle shape - slips over the fingers like a ring, no flat surface needed to steady the bottle. The design has been included in the Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
