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Hennessy Black

Hennessy Black's new cognac packaging is a study in contrasts. A black/silver/gray color scheme is elegantly portrayed with impeccable attention to detail. A glossy black finish allows the bottle to better catch the light. The new hot-pressed silver logo block emphasizes the stylized "armed arm". The top of the bottle represents a black chain-mail armor on a gun-colored gray background, which perfectly suits the shape of the metallic cap. The 1785 matte black medallion has been redesigned (although a bit hard to see in this photo) and the informative back label is silk screen printed.

Curius is the design agency behind this design. They  do a lot of work for premium brands. About Curius: Curius offers global and specialized services, making strategy and creation equally important. Created in 2003 by Pascal Viguier, the company applies generous, practical and lively design. They have done work for brands including, Bollinger, Hennessy, Lacoste, MSN, Sodexho and more.

Brand Spotlight: Crayola (Updated)

Here's an interesting retrospective of Crayola's packaging through the years at top. The bottom photo features the recent limited-edition set of three boxes with the original graphics of each era of the brand's history. The one on the far right most resembles what I remember from grade school! Ah nostalgia.

I just added a lot more photos of older packaging that you can see after the jump. Which Crayola box is from your childhood?

Brand Spotlight: Aldo Shoes

Lots of packaging from the in-house design team at Aldo Shoes. Above are their pr kit, look book and a totebag.

See a bunch more after the jump.

Brand Spotlight: Shatto Milk Company

 

 

 

We've posted about Shatto Milk Company before (here), but thought we'd post some recent images that were sent to us. Again, the design is done by Sullivan Higdon & Sink.

See more after the jump.

Brand Spotlight: Incase

The inhouse design team at Incase was kind enough to send in a full assortment of their latest and best packaging work. See it all after the jump.

Brand Spotlight: Est Natural Cosmetics

Est is a Brazilian brand of natural skincare products. Their packaging features spare, clean typographical layouts and refreshing color. The strength of the look is based on a very effective use of typography as the sole graphic element. The font is similar to Didot, but that's not it. Can you figure it out? Go ahead font buffs, let us know in the comments!

Update: Ciro Gerard from Brazil-based Satelite, kindly informed us of their role in designing this beautiful collection. Thanks for commenting!

Continue reading for several more photos of their outstanding packaging range.

Brand Spotlight: Today Was Fun Tea Line

Thanks to a reader for the tip. Today Was Fun is a tea brand with a lot of personality and a great Manifesto:

"For centuries people have known that wisdom and advice, love and support, news and gossip, all go better with a cup of tea. Tea and philosophy go together so naturally it was obvious we should combine the two. Today was Fun has lovingly created five hand blended, herbal teas and carefully wrapped them in a little of our philosophy.

Make Everyday Fun. If we can't, at the end of each working day, say Today was Fun, we're in the wrong business. To ensure we can say it, we pour our hearts into everything we do."

More after the jump.

Brand Spotlight: New Recchiuti Packaging

I'm a chocolate lover and am a great admirer of Recchiuti's highly acclaimed chocolates. The packaging is also beautiful - crossing the threshold between classic and modern. I get their email updates every week and was pleased to see their newest collections - updated packaging for their 'favorites' collection and a new line of dragée packaging.

Many thanks to Dave Braden of The Engine Room (in San Francisco) who sent me some images from the latest photoshoot featuring their designs. (Photography by Tom Seawell.)

Continue for more images and close-ups, plus some back-story on these designs.