28.10.10




Hm, is that really what I think it is? Right? Kind of unusual, confusing concept. There must be a double meaning. I like the chosen colours; they're very delicate and light like the white wine its selling, but all i notice is the egg and sperm. Wine and sperm. (Speaking of which, I read sperm is an ingredient of a certain anti-aging cream). You think it is a way to draw a subtle connection to the green grapes harvested during which wine making is like conception? Leave it to the wine experts.

Dame Vita

21.10.10

----- Eh, What? -----

A few things bewildered me today.
To my surprise, as I was satisfying my daily guilty pleasure of reading gossip (ONTD!), a graphic design topic was discussed! Finally, graphic design is climbing up the same ladder of importance as celebrity news like Jersey's Shore's The Situation guide book on ways to avoid Grenades and tips on becoming a Guido—wow, do we really co-exist on the same planet?



Then I discovered Ecofont: a function to save 25% of ink. Intriguing. It is said any favorite, common fonts can be used in the process. As soon as the text is ready to go to print, a click of the "eco" button allows you to create "holes" in the fonts. On screen, holes do in fact appear quite legibly, but on paper they are invisible to the eyes.

15.10.10


----- Wise words of Paul Rand -----

"...sort have concluded [graphic designers] were not very important"
"it's better for things to look good than bad"


1991 Interview with Paul Rand Part I


Part II


Part III


He's so raw and honest and almost confusingly pretentious, but I think he was attempting to say we cannot underestimate the simplicity of design and overestimate its process. Maybe most of time there is no reasoning or explanation behind every work; sometimes design arrives by accident, by trial and error or by simply what feels right to the designer.

14.10.10

Packaging dominates most of our visual pollution. Behind every packaging design, there is a team of designers (or a single designer) who works on constructing a physical exterior to hold a product in place while delivering a consumer experience to attract and sell. Packaging isn't just a piece of cardboard, container, plastic, or label. Clothes are to humans what packaging is to products. A person's fashion style can exhibit a certain personality and taste—a product's identity and purpose are first informed by its outer layer. Winter seasons force coats, hats and scarves as a form of protection against rigid weathers—the products' fragility during transportation are protected by the selected material. The thought process can't be arbitrary, many factors must be included and planned to flawlessly deliver the product from the manufacturer to the store then safely to the hands of the consumer.

Packaging of the World is perfect for offering visitors a great collection of packaging from around the world. For the inspired and uninspired.
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Packaging of the World
www.packagingoftheworld.com

Doing a little research for packaging for my side project. Found these unique concepts. By Paolo Ulian.

7.10.10

When I was notified about a logo crime scene, I quickly jumped to it and found myself quickly on site to investigate, feeling with an unsettling anticipation. The whiff of the disturbing image hit me hard, my head immediately jerked backward in shock, I started to blink rapidly hoping maybe it was a hindrance in the way. It turned out to be nothing but reality. These sad cases happen often and the sympathies or the criticisms will start to pour in truck loads.

This is the story: Gap, a long running classic American label. Like its ubiquitous counterparts (Coke, Nike...), the brand is unequivocally recognizable, we can close our eyes and picture the logo: basic blue square, white serif font centered. All is good. Of course, overtime predicted by weak sales and new drive, companies choose to redesign, which is never the easiest job. To design something is hard, to redesign it's tricky. Black and white is easy to achieve but not grey, at least not the grey everyone would like. They will either love it or hate it. If you move a sofa from its long-sitting position, it will look strange no matter where you put it. If a friend legally changes his/her name, they will physically look and feel odd to you. Something isn't quite right. Familiarity is a an invisible force that we cling on to. Is it the unfamiliarity or the tastelessness that's catching us off guard? I say 20% of the former and 80% of the latter. As soon as Gap revealed their new look on the website, it feels as if someone replaced its soul. Logos aim to represent the company's soul and that day, Gap lost of bit of theirs. However, I cannot fathom the pressure that had been felt by the design team to redesign the classic logo. Simultaneously, I also could not fathom what began the process and how it lead them here.





5.10.10

Another prime example of well restraint execution for products that don't necessary need to be over complicated and gaudy. Being the opposite definitely makes these cans stand out from the crowd. This style is right on my street. Cabinets don't have to be boring...



Case in point:

See how the yellow boxes in the centre are the prominent ones? Bold colour, minimal images, and text, simply-simple, not busy.
----- smaller the package the better -----




When I stroll between the aisles of my grocery stores, often times I get hit with an urge to try new products, my curiosity arises and I end up spending a lot more time, and money, than I intended. One of my pet peeves are bad packaging. Nothing is worse than picking up a product, pondering over and over, meanwhile while your priceless time goes by, and all you wanted to know is, for example, how long it takes to cook, or even just to know what it is. When I'm in hurry there's no time to play a game of I Spy, the grocery edition. I prefer skipping all the marketing junk message, and just give me the real deal. LESS IS MORE; as much as the quote has been used but I cannot reiterate more.

London firm, Pearlfisher, created a packaging design for chef Jaime Oliver's food line. Is down right simple, easy to read and importantly, to the point!