Baking Inspiration

Related to the new packaging for Chi coconut water, I sent an email to an agency called Leahy Brand Design a few weeks ago and they have been in contact to arrange a possible visit to their studio. So as usual, I always try and do a bit of research into the company to give me a head start.

Another great re brand they have just finished is for Napier Brown and their Whitworths brand. Under the banner of Whitworths For Baking, Leahy have created some new structural packaging for a range of baking sugars. I love the idea of drawing the shapes in the scattered sugar which is simple but really effective. The colour palette used is very sympathetic and not over done with a simple plain coloured band but a stark white background which shows off the individual designs in the middle. The typography also has a lovely hand scripted look and has a nice innocence about it that complements the other elements.

The actual packs use mostly recycled materials and are a lot more user friendly. Also they now have a very useful re-sealable feature. I particularly like the twist and sprinkle icing sugar mill they have designed which also features a built in sieve.

Better Than Powerpoint

I got sent a link to this amazing presentation using iPads. Enjoy.....

Chalk Is Cheap

With most design these days there is a cost element to it. Most is designed on a computer and when you combine this with the required software, it's not cheap. Then add on the costs of printing or displaying it on a website which has associated costs, it can soon add up.

What I love seeing is someones pure skill at making or drawing something. Especially when it comes to drawing as anyone can do it and it costs very little in terms of equipment needed.

Dana Tanamachi is an American Graphic Designer who uses chalk to communicate with. Her work has been seen in places like Ralph Lauren's window displays to a wall in the Google offices in New York.

After starting out designing Broadway show posters and food packaging, she is now a full time custom chalk letterer. I caught her work on the Design Sponge website where she has just designed the front cover of O Magazine. This was started by Oprah Winfrey and it is their first entirely hand lettered cover on their February 2012 issue.

I have picked some of my favourites of her fantastic work:

Before and After

Whilst I was at the Food and Drink Expo the other day I managed to get a look at the new range of packaging for Alex James' cheese range. Not quite ditching his rock and roll past just yet as the bassist with Blur, but having purchased a farm a few years ago it seems he is ready to compete with the likes of Tyrells and Jimmys Farm by producing his own range of foods.

The new design is by Dzine Mafia from Aesop. In her own words:

“For far too many years the shelves of consumer stores have been filled with mediocre and uninspiring packaging design. Design that has been held back, restrained and killed by brand managers and account handlers with no creative bravery. That are frightened to let their products puff their chest out, stand up and be different and instead just want to follow the crowd to become a makeshift replica of the brand leader.”

"I wanted to keep the design quite simplistic and let the pack shout its message from the shelf with a fun and playful feel. A hand finished font was a must along with blasts of bright colour. The blue from the existing packaging still worked as a good consistent colour across the packs and created a nice contrast with the cheeses seen through the larger pack window. As Alex talks a lot about cheese I made this more of a feature using a bold, blocky speech bubble. Then to finish off a simple, little illustration to emphasise the flavor. The design lets the packs stand out as something different to the usual cheeses. They allow some personality to show through and would appeal to an adult audience willing to try new flavours as well as kids who I’m sure would enjoy eating the ‘Real Cheese Rebel’ – Tomato Ketchup Cheddar." - Dzine Mafia

I do like the new design but personally, I don't think it will appeal to the adult audience. It looks like something designed for kids with the jaunty handmade type and colours. I get the fun aspect of it and the speech bubble idea but if the target was to appeal to a more adult market, I am still not convinced. What it does convey is the personality of the producer himself and has got that comedic value to it.

They are a definite improvement on the previous designs:

 I like the idea of using the capital 'A' and the the cheese knife shape but I don't like the type that is  on the cheese knife itself. I can see what they were trying to achieve by mimicking the type you would find on cutlery but I don't particularly like the 'ALEX JAMES presents'. I would have lost the word presents and made his name look like it was actually part of the knife or even had one made with his name engraved into it and then photographed it.

It's a close call with these two very different approaches. The earlier design wouldn't look out of place in Waitrose or an up market delicatessen. I would have preferred a slight change to the original and something that wasn't so child-like in its appearance. As it is going to be sold in Asda, I can see how it will sit amongst the other brands but from a price perspective, I can't see how it can still command a higher price compared to others.

Own Label Packaging

Ocado are basically an online grocer where you obviously buy the goods online and then they are delivered to your door. JKR was commissioned to redesign their own range of groceries. Their previous design didn't really have a coherent look and was only tied with a basic drop tag on each of the labels. So JKR used the swirl in the logo and made the design a lot fresher and gave it a matching system.

The online market is getting very competitive as our lives become busier and we do not want to waste time walking around a supermarket. Why would you when you can place an order in your dinner hour and then have it delivered straight to your door the same or next evening.

Their main aim was to make people love Ocado's products as much as they loved the brand. Trying to make people happy to see the packaging in their cupboards and around their kitchens.

I think this is really interesting. No, really, I do. It's hard enough trying to make a product dominate on a supermarket shelf amongst all the other brands. Making sure that whichever way the product may end up on a shelf but still being able to recognise the individual brand. But what happens when we get the product home to our own kitchens. Not all the products end up in a cupboard. I have bought some items in the past that not only have been the right product but the packaging was attractive enough to have on the work surface on show. I am thinking of a bottle of virgin olive oil which I have refilled over a dozen times because I like the bottle. I suppose then the only problem is that the brand suffers because I tend to now buy a cheaper version to fill up the bottle!

Another challenge that they had to face was trying to create a simple design for their range without having any control over the packaging. I think they have done a great job as for an own label brand it doesn't look cheap at all. The products look as good together as they do apart and the colour palette used is effective.

Now compare the above with the re brand of Morrisons Saver brand.

 These were designed by Coley Porter Bell. The designs are simple, iconic, bright but can never be called attractive. They are very functional and shout out value range. So in effect, they are very well designed as they have been pitched perfectly to their chosen position. Cheap and cheerful for a consumer looking for a bargain.

Record Sleeves Preserved In Memory

I feel sorry for the younger generation with regards to music. They have missed so much. Let's be honest, the record shop is no more. Whilst there may be a few independent outlets, there is nowhere near the number that there used to be. I used to spend hours every Saturday pouring over the vinyl racks hoping to find some hidden gem. A rare test pressing or a bootleg copy of a favourite artist. You had specialist shops like Don Christies near the outdoor markets in Birmingham which played some amazing reggae tunes and for some reason you came out a little light headed! Then there was Reddingtons Rare Records which used to keep a few selections for me every weekend as soon as I walked in the door. Also, the Diskery was another favourite haunt.

The problem today is that buying music is a soulless affair. You can't really get excited about clicking a button and within seconds you have an album. I just feel cheated somehow and long for the days of not being able to wait to get that new record home, the sound of the faint clicks of the stylus hitting the vinyl and then devouring the sleeve notes. I used to collect ridiculous amounts of vinyl which mysteriously started to dwindle a few years after I got married, strange that!

Anyway, enough digressing. Why I am reminiscing is that in this months Creative Review, I was reading about a new release by Orlando Weeks who is the lead singer with The Maccabees. You can't really call it a record sleeve but its one of the first new releases that has caught my eye for the great artwork. It comes with a 24 page illustrated book by Robert Hunter which is fantastic. It tells the story of a girl and her relationship with a giant monster and also with her own shadow.

I used to love albums like this. Limited editions with amazing designs and insights into the mind of the artists. Plus the fact that they became collectible and something to treasure. By the way I will not even go into detail about Record Fairs as it gets very geeky. Needless to say that the records that I still own are either limited editions or have another value in some way.

So enjoy the great illustrations and go and buy a copy as there is only going to be a limited run of 1500. I am now one of them.

London Bridge Under Construction

An article in The Telegraph today shows some fantastic photographs of London Bridge being constructed. They were found in a skip outside a building being converted into flats in 2006. There were also some ledgers which the man took to the Tower Bridge Museum. When he said that he also had some photographs, he was told that they have loads of them and didn't want them. So since then they have been wrapped in brown paper and put in a bag under his bed.

They were only discovered this  month because he happened to mention to his neighbour about the photos. His neighbour happens to be Peter Berthoud, a City of Westminster tour guide and history expert on London. The founder still wishes to remain anonymous but the images are unique and have never been recorded before.

Food and Drink Expo at the NEC

I didn't know what to expect as I received some tickets to the show only a few days ago. It gives food and drink manufacturers a chance to show their wares to supermarkets, deli's etc. I assumed that it was going to be all the major companies like Coca Cola and Birds Eye but it was mainly smaller start up suppliers which made it more interesting. My aim was not only to look at how the brands are developed but to possibly see some opportunities where I could redesign their packaging for them.

The one draw of these shows has to be all the free samples that are available which, believe it or not, I resisted them all. The last food and drink show I went to I had had such a mixture of different foods that I didn't feel that well on the way home, so that was the reason for abstaining.

As well as the Food and Drink Expo, there was the Farm Shop and Deli Expo, National Convenience Show and the Forecourt and Fuel Equipment Show. It was no surprise that the last show, I conveniently didn't visit.

The first stand that I stopped at was the people at Firefly, who were selling their range of original fruit juices. Their initial idea was to find a refreshing and delicious soft drink that wasn't packed full of sugar, so they decided to make their own. They had three simple rules. It has to be delicious, it has to be natural and it has to be unusually good.

What attracted me to them first was the bright colours and the nice type treatment. Their stand was quite busy mainly because they came across as really passionate about their product and were very easy to talk to.

Next, the stand at Sheepprint caught my eye mainly because of the clean printing on their plastic tubs. What they do is actually put the label inside the plastic skin of the container so it is a lot more durable for frozen products and retains the colours and shape easily. They can also graduate the labels in stages throughout the plastic so you can have a very slight three dimensional effect. During the conversation it came to light that they were looking for more packaging designers as they also offer an in house design service. So I will send them my portfolio and maybe get a few initial jobs from them.

Thinking of a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have had the confidence to even suggest that I could help but I have realised that I have some good skills and have to start somewhere. Plus, if I want to start a competent freelance studio, I have got to promote myself more as a professional designer. With the recent placement opportunities, I know after the first one that I will have gained a lot more information and hopefully be more confident in my abilities.

Another design that caught my eye was the stand for Chi Coconut Water...

I picked up their information leaflet which has been designed really well. They have a lot of health claims that they attribute to their drink but it is well known that natural coconut juice is great at re hydration and is used as a beauty aid. Their harvesting and processing procedures allow them to package and pasteurise natural coconut waters that are biologically pure so there is no need to add any preservatives. The best aspect of this product is that it has no cholesterol, is fat free and is naturally low in calories. What helped them even more is again, the people manning the stand were enthusiastic and engaged everyone walking past their stand.

After this I grabbed a coffee and had a good vantage point of quite a few stands to watch how they approached people and tried to engage them. It was quite interesting how many different styles there were. The extremes were the worst. What I mean by that is the ones that were too shy and never even said hello or the ones that were trying to read peoples badges and basically standing in the middle of the aisles were unable to grab anyone to their stands. There is nothing worse than somebody who is really over the top and pushy as you worry what they would be like to work with in the long term. On the opposite scale, the ones that were just standing there, playing with their mobiles, reading a magazine, might as well just thrown their stand expense down the drain. I know how much a stand costs at the NEC and there is no way I would waste that money if it was my product.

The stands that were providing popular had two distinct advantages. Firstly, they had a great product to sell. Because there were free samples everywhere, if your product tastes fantastic, half of your job is done. Next it's down to the price and that's when you need a good salesman who can close a deal every time. Now because I am a bit cynical of sales techniques, I tend to shy away from professional salesmen because I had to do it myself and know a lot of the tricks and persuasion techniques, which rely a lot on reverse psychology.

My favourite people are the ones that are genuine and friendly without being pushy or over confident. There was one stand I was watching that were selling there own brands of cheeses. It was one of the smallest stands but they were actually queueing to place orders. What made them stand out was the owners themselves. Basically it was a farm on the Isle of Man who had decided to diversify into making their own range of cheese. They were genuinely nice people and the farmer was a bit of a character anyway which only helped them even more. When I had finished my drink, I went to investigate and as soon as I walked past the stand, it was a nice greeting and he couldn't wait to show me his cheeses. It is hard being on a trade stand for days and staying enthusiastic and engaging clients all day, every day and I was really impressed.

I sort of felt sorry for the stand opposite who was selling their own range of ice creams. But the lady on the stand was failing to engage anyone even though she had a ready made audience straight in front of her which she could have attracted. Another problem was the overall packaging design which looked like someone had designed it using Word. It looked very poor with a lack of unity and quite poor typography. The big plus was the product itself was fantastic. It was the only sample I had, probably because it was quite hot in there but also there were some different flavours. So I offered my services and said that if she wanted to, I would be prepared to help them get started with a unifying look to their brand. Obviously they are struggling with the financial side but as I need credible work for my portfolio, I indicated that it wouldn't cost them a lot of money at all as I am more interested in helping them improve the labelling for them. Also, if I can use all the designs for myself, I am getting something from it anyway.

Overall, it was another useful visit as I not only had a chance to look at some new packaging designs but also watching how people approached possible clients.

Also, I have had the confirmation from Holmes and Marchant for the first placement starting on the 10th April for 4 weeks. I was a bit worried about trying to find somewhere cheap enough to stay in Marlow as it's an expensive place to live. Luckily a new Premier Inn has opened four miles up the road at High Wycombe and as an incentive, there are some great special deals going. At least you know what you are getting with Premier Inns as you get great breakfasts, comfy rooms and somewhere to work. As an added bonus, because I have booked the month, they have thrown in free WiFi for me as well.

Latest Packaging Favourites

There has been some great packaging designs released lately. The first one is by PB Creative who have designed a limited edition bottle for Bulmers Vintage Reserve. It has been created to celebrate the 125th birthday of the brand.

I like how fresh the design looks and it does convey a celebratory feel overall especially with the gold detailing. I especially like the detail on the capital B on the main label which is a nice touch.

Next is a new range of cheeses by Futura Foods. Yamas is a range of Greek and Cypriot cheese which have been designed by BOS who are based in Cheltenham. I like this because it communicates really well with the mosaic letters and the bright palette that has been used. It really captures the spirit of Greece. When you compare it to the offerings in a supermarket at the moment, a lot of the cheese packaging is quite plain and safe but this is going to stand out easily.

The only problem that I can see happening in the near future is that packaging design is going to get overdone to a certain extent as so many companies want there product to be the brightest and stand out more. But what will happen is that the shelves will become complicated and a visual assault when trying to choose products. There is a definite division between value brands and the more artisan products which I hope continues. Because the supermarket own brands work to tighter budgets they do not have an equivalent spend to attribute to the packaging side of the product. If this changed would they improve their packaging to compete on a level field? In reality, probably not, because there would be nothing to differentiate themselves from the higher price products. There has to be a case for value brands looking like a value brand.

The last one for today isn't really a fancy piece of packaging but can be seen as more important. Whilst we are all trying to eat more healthily and avoid ready meals, the market is still huge. In the UK alone, the market consists of nearly 6.5 billion trays a year. 60% are in the chilled area whilst the remainder is in the frozen market.

The carton firm Benson Group has joined forces with a France based firm, Mecapack to create a new recyclable ready meal tray. The new carton design has a reduced weight, reduced embedded carbon and the main advantage, the potential for greater recycling.

What they have managed to do is put a thin film inside the carton to preserve the food but the surrounding board is all recyclable. Apparently all you have to do when you have finished is pull the two apart and recycle the outer board.

It's a step in the right direction but it still doesn't quite go far enough. What would be better is all of it being recyclable. The reason that people do not recycle enough is that they are basically lazy. Where we live there is a fantastic recycling scheme in place and once you get into the habit, it's amazing how much you do recycle every week. As an example we would have to put our black wheelie bin out every week but now it goes out every fortnight but it is only about a third full.

It's a good idea but I cannot see everyone being bothered to separate the inner from the outer packaging as most people always want the easy option. But, we all have to start somewhere.

A Comedy Of Errors

Why Not Associates have produced some amazing artworks over the last few years and I have been an ardent admirer of their work for a long time. Especially their work in the environment from the fantastic tree columns in the Crawley Library and their works in Morecambe with the Flock Of Words project that is a tribute to the late Eric Morecambe. Shown below:

There most amazing project to date has to be The Comedy Carpet in Blackpool. It is a stunning piece of work and I was initially surprised when I found out it was in Blackpool. I did go and see it for myself and it is fantastic. The benefit of being slightly older is that I have grown up with some of the comedy legends. So reading some of the quotes used brought back some good memories.

But this week I was sent a news report about Blackpool Council destroying the Comedy Carpet. Apparently whilst the work was being installed, the trams were out of service. Now the season is about to start they realised that at a certain vantage point, people might be standing too close to the tram tracks. Now surely there would have been lengthy conversations about any foreseeable problems beforehand and numerous surveys of the proposed site.

Anyway, having come across this problem, instead of getting in touch with the original artists who were commissioned, Blackpool Council took it upon themselves to instruct workmen to dig away sections to make it safer. Because of the nature of the artwork, there was a way that some panels could have been safely lifted out and possibly reconfigured, but no.

I make no secret of the fact that I have never liked Blackpool and have described it in the past as a cesspit by the sea. I wish they had chosen somewhere else more worthy of this artwork than Blackpool. Let's be honest, it isn't exactly a thriving hub of creativity is it? What should happen is that the remainder be taken away and reinstalled somewhere else to be appreciated by people a bit further up the food chain. It just goes to prove that some cultures cannot be changed and are so ingrained in a set system without foresight, that they are not worth changing. This might seem a strong self opinionated view but things like these really annoy me. Especially when it comes to councils making ridiculous decisions.


I suppose there is one advantage to Blackpool Council.........it gives them a bit more room to install some more burgers and doughnut stalls!

Taxi Studio's New Packaging For Tumult

Saw this great new design for the drink Tumult which is owned by Coca Cola. Apparently they have six agencies they use on their projects, one of the others being Turner Duckworth.

I like the fresh palette they have used, also the shape of the label itself which is a reference to the drinks fermented 'alive' quality. Taxi's Creative Director, Mr Spencer Buck (great name) says that because its essentially a fermented non alcoholic drink, it's basically alive. There aims were to bring a bit more joy to the packaging and make it less austere.

Personally, I like the design and will be looking out for it when it gets released over here later on this year.

New Portfolio

As a contrast and compare, I wanted to post the latest incarnation of my portfolio. It was hard slog getting it together in just 5 days. Especially trying to find all my previous photographs and also turning the kitchen into a mini photo studio for two days.