Also in this report:
– Classico delivers on its promise p.16
– Fruits & Passion design a self-indulgent success p.16
– Fiole du Pape bottle belies its contents: ‘There’s a sucker born every minute,’ says Pigeon after being duped by brilliant design p.17
– Competitors pale beside Minute Maid p.17
– Tazo Tea tin an objet d’art p. 18
– Lea & Perrins BBQ creates honest bond p.18
– The Lactantia look p.19
– Quaker Oats maintains dignity p.19
Close your eyes. We’re going to try a little experiment.
Are they closed? Good. Now try answering this question: what comes to mind first when you think of the Coca-Cola brand?
Time’s up. All those who saw the sinuously curving bottle and the red label with that distinctive flowing white script – raise your hands.
We thought so.
As marketers sometimes need to be reminded, a product’s packaging plays no small part in its success.
Why? Because in many ways the package is the embodiment, on the shelf, of the brand and all that it stands for. One need only consider the iconic status that the Coke bottle or Corn Flakes box enjoys today to appreciate just how powerfully effective a package can be in building brand identity.
As Michael Butler, president of Toronto-based Design Partners observed in these pages a few months ago, ‘The image that’s going to appear in the consumer’s mind when they think about these products is the package – not the product itself.’ In the glass, after all, one cola looks rather like any other.
What exactly, then, are the attributes that make some packages better brand-building tools than others? In search of answers, Strategy asked nine prominent designers to identify examples of packaging that they felt worked especially well in support of brands, and explain why.
The designers were free to pick examples from anywhere in the world. Strategy asked only that their choices be recent – we didn’t really want nine essays on the Coca-Cola bottle – and that they refrain from citing their own work.
Their picks appear on these pages. Some of the package designs chosen orginated here in Canada; in those cases, we have identified the design firm responsible.
Gary Oakley’s pick: Harvey Nichols
Gary Oakley is senior director, creative graphics with The Watt Design Group in Toronto.
The old adage ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’ cannot be applied to the retail theatre or the package design industry. That is especially clear after a recent visit to England and the flagship Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge, London.
In industries such as fashion and grocery/food, brands are what drive product success, and the retail arena is where it starts. At Harvey Nichols, the superb window and store merchandising that the upscale retailer uses to sell its own image is complemented by the outstanding packaging that designer Michael Nash has created for its store-brand food products.
The heritage of the Harvey Nichols brand is supported simply, clearly and with great purity. Instead of using one of the many technical and reproduction opportunities available to him – from multiple colors, to embossing, to industrial design – the designer has chosen to go the simple route, a stroke of genius in itself.
The use of high-calibre photography, clean and simple typography and a consistent look throughout has helped create a brand that echoes the retail environment perfectly.
The images are reproduced in black and white and duotones, using the highest quality printing. The subject matter of the images is innovative and original, reinforcing the product’s authenticity and quality.
Style is the prerequisite in package design; this packaging has it, and more.
