Wackaging

© Sophie Neilan 2011

Do you ever feel your packaging's getting a bit over-familiar?

Peruse any supermarket aisle in the UK and you will find a bewildering array of packs doing everything they can to be your best mate. Do I really need to be pals with a box of porridge? Has my social life become that stunted since having kids? Maybe.

Several years ago, Innocent  paved the way for hundreds of brands struggling to find their voice. Innocent did a brilliant job and continue to do so, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, a lot of other brands have decided to find their voice too or, more explicitly, not exactly their voice, more that of Innocent's rather less cool younger brother.

There's a whole blog devoted to what has been termed "Wackaging". All packaging geeks, horrified copy writers and wackaging wanabees, click here ...

Social Media or The Art of Discussion

I recently got involved in one of those Linked In discussions that ask a pertinent question and invite people to make themselves look (a) stupid (b) angry (c) like they’ve got nothing better to do or (d - the one we’re all striving towards) intelligent and pithy.

The question was:

“What do you think makes a good client?”

It’s an interesting question and, trying to attain (d) status, I wrote:

“A good client understands his (or her) business, has clear objectives, is not afraid to take (calculated) risks, is decisive and intelligent, has the leadership skills and authority to bring his team along with him, the humility to accept advice and the social skills to make working together a pleasure, not a chore.”

To which someone responded,

“Eh ... a manager or a client?”

Oh great! Now I’ve got myself involved in a debate. I’ve got a deadline! It’s past 7pm and I don’t have time for this.

My response (quickly, time is of the essence):

“I’d have thought a good client needs to be both”.

An answer came back immediately and I have to admit to having no idea what the person was talking about. How can I respond to something unintelligible? Why did I get involved anyway?

Much as I would have loved to have a go at responding, I know I would have catapulted myself straight into (a) and (b) status simultaneously and, to avoid this, have now stepped away from the discussion.

Lesson learned: social media takes time, commitment and patience. How do you select the right discussions to throw yourself wholeheartedly into? How do you fit it into your daily life? How do you manage to keep up your day job?

Do I need to buy an iPad, give up my job or employ someone to do it for me?

Herb Lubalin at the Cooper Union

I recently came across this wonderful Flickr set of images by Justin Thomas Kay, featuring work by the iconic American graphic designer, Herb Lubalin (creator of the font Avante Garde, amongst others).

It's really worth a look and is proof of how the general standard of design would be improved if more designers had to prove their skill without the use of a Mac.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

Last week was holiday time for us and off to Southwold in Suffolk we went!

The days of jetting off to exotic climes seem to have long since passed for me and I must admit I wasn't particularly enthralled by the prospect of a week experiencing what we laughingly call "British Summertime" at close quarters.

My memories of English seaside fun extend to week-ends as a child visiting my grand-parents in Brighton. I loved seeing my grand-parents. However, the beach was nothing but a chore: staggering across agonising pebbles to step into a witheringly cold sea. Inedible sticks of rock and sticky candy-floss were given as a panacea to the general dullness of it all, but they were awful too.

Dental suicide

Well, my worries could not have been more misplaced. We had a wonderful time! Southwold is WONDERFUL! Go there! NO. Don't. Don't tell anyone about it.

 

Sandy beaches, beach huts, a pier, a putting green, a boating lake, cream teas, wasps, butterflies, crabs, ladybirds en masse, OAP's, Boden catalogue families, resentful locals: they were all there and out in force.

Long live the Summer! I am a Born Again British Beachbum. Wish it would stop raining, though.

Oz and the Bear digging for pebbles

Biscuiteers

This came in the post today. It was a thank-you from my friend, Lucy, and it is utterly gorgeous!

Biscuits through the post

All the girls in our studio were ecstatic. The boys feigned disinterest, but I reckon they were just jealous.

I think it's a great idea, and so much tastier than flowers.

Another beautiful design by Bigfish, you can check Biscuiteers out here.

3 Wise Monkeys

I have never watched a parliamentary committee in action until today. Bizarre!

All I can say is that there seemed to be a lot of glancing down to the left from some parties.

Riveting stuff! The worm has turned!

© Sophie Neilan 2011

Hand-writing: is it all over?

Note to self

It seems that the Department of Education in Indiana believes hand-writing is becoming redundant, stating that it will no longer require public schools to teach cursive (joined-up) writing, expecting students to become proficient in keyboard use instead.

I have no problem with the keyboard part. Having been sent on a secretarial course when I left school and learning to touch-type has been one of the singularly most useful pieces of education I have received in my life.

The idea of my children and their generation being unable to write a letter or a birthday card, without it looking like it's been written by a monkey, makes me sad though.

For me, hand-writing is an extension of self. I think slightly differently when I'm writing by hand. I tend to think before I write, rather than splurge it all on the page as I'm doing now.

A generation of graphologists will find themselves unemployable. Detectives will be one clue down in their endeavours to track criminals. "Billets doux" will be a thing of the past.

The people in Indiana have clearly failed to think this through.

I can't claim to be an expert in hand-writing, I just like doing it, but here's a potted history with thanks to Lauren Marshall's article for the Columbia News.

Secretary hand was developed in the 15th century from medieval court hand and was used for informal writing throughout the 16th and, in various forms, right up to the 19th century.

A Booke Containing Divers Sortes of Hands, as Well the English as French Secretarie with the Italian, Roman, Chancelry & Court Hands, Jean de Beauchesne. London: 1570

When I worked in the past with the most brilliant lettering artist, Bob Stradling, (who is now retired and has sadly closed down his website), he very generously gave me some tips and guided me in the direction of classic guides for Penmanship from the 19th century. The best of these was "The Universal Penman" and "Penmanship Made Easy" by George Bickham.

An example of George Bickham's English roundhand lettering skills

It's been said that one of the most important penmen of this period, Platt Rogers Spencer, picked up his art from the observation of nature.

In more recent times, and with the advent of education for all, hand-writing was taught in schools. Austin Palmer's approach was to enable children to write more clearly and with less effort. He introduced his method in 1888 and it became the standard in schools for many years.

I remember vividly the arduous task of learning to write and was quite interested to come across this image of the D'Nealian (a distant relation perhaps?) handwriting system, developed in the 1970's.

D'Nealian Handwriting Readiness for Preschoolers: Book 1, Donald Deal Thurber. Illinois: c1987

Several hand-writing styles since, I have settled for my own distinctive scrawl. It's become more scratchy and hurried over the years (probably a reflection of my developing personality!), but it's mine.

I hope we don't follow Indiana's example. Keep on writing!!!!

Great ideas

I went out to get a present for a friend's baby this lunchtime. I wandered into a bookshop and bought a Maisy word book.

At the till, my eye fell on these and I had to bring some home.

PENGUIN BOOKS Great Ideas

Each individual book in the series is a work of art. And the ideas are quite interesting too.

Hmm. I feel more intelligent already.

Penguin proves yet again that you CAN judge a book by its cover and that we need to nurture our bookshops.

I'd read about them online when they launched, thought they looked good and then promptly forgot about them. It was only when had the opportunity to handle them and pore over them, that I was seduced into buying them. I couldn't have done that through Amazon.

iOverload

I am a sufferer of Information Overload.

As someone who works in the communications industry, this is something of a nuisance.

A letter on the subject from Tim Pyne to The Independent illustrates the problem perfectly. He had recently been to a talk by James Gleik on this very subject. They had a chat after the talk and both agreed that self-filtering had become an inevitability and I couldn't agree more with them on this point.

This state of mind can be very difficult to combat. I find it hard to get through an entire article in a magazine, let alone finish a book.

Yesterday, attempting to glean information about VAT on HM Customs & Excise website, I actually fell into a sort of catatonic state, unresponsive to attempts at revival. The only thing that saved me was a strong cup of tea and a walk around the block.

Tim Pyne, the letter writer from the start of this post (are you still with me?), decided to solve the problem by throwing his £500 iPhone into the bin. I can only hope he erased all his personal information first.

He says he's feeling much better for it, like a reformed drug addict, but I think I need to find another way.

Annoying as it is to feel permanently wired to the World outside, I do believe we are enriched by the ability to share and broadcast information as we do today. With this freedom comes the need for self-control, the power to Switch Off. I guess that's the part I need to work on!

What is this??

Just sitting at my desk, about to take a sip of my wonderful cool refreshing SanPellegrino Aranciata.


I should have realised sooner.


There was no wonderfully sensual unwrapping of the lid foil.


The colour and design was vaguely reminiscent of Pepsi.


The background banknote pattern (such craft, such fine Italian authenticity) should have been conspicuous by its absence.


But no. I took a deep swig, put down the can and this is what I saw:

Oh!

Can somebody explain to me what this is? Please let it be a design for another far flung market, one that I may never come across again. Please don't tell me that they've replaced this ...

... with something so bland. It can't be true!!!!

The Fashion Pack

I like packaging. I like jewellery. What more could a girl ask for?

These lovely pieces are the work of Yoav Kotik. I want one.

"Refreshingly Different"

Carlsberg brings out a new 'gender neutral' beer. Beautiful design and a good example of category disruption. It will be interesting to see how popular it becomes and with whom.

It's a beer, but not as we know it.

Money to burn, anyone?

I've been looking for examples of super-luxury packaging and came across this bottle of Guerlain's exclusive "Artist Edition" of "Idylle".

It's certainly eye-catching, if not a little odd-looking. It was created by Ora Ito, and is a solid 18-carat gold perfume bottle enveloped in a clear Baccarat crystal ball.

"How do you open it and where can I get one?", I hear you cry.

You'll need to buy two: one for decoration and one as a perfume. You have to smash the crystal to get the bottle out.

That's ok if you've got a bit of extra cash knocking around and lots of staff around to help clear up the shards of glass and tend the injuries incurred while trying to get at the bottle.

Each one is on special order and costs a mere $45,000.

If that's a little rich for you, then relax with a nice glass of Champagne. Perrier-Jouet recently launched this stunning Limited Edition (only 100 units) to celebrate their bi-centenary. It could be yours for a 10,000 euros if they haven't already sold out.

Steve Jobs is God ...

... or so the fervour with which Apple fans worship their brand would make it seem.

I watched "Secrets of the Superbrands", a new series which started on BBC3 last night, beginning with an episode focussing on Technology. If you're remotely interested in the World we live in today the best thing to do is watch it but, if you don't have time, carry on reading.

Alex Riley presents "Secrets of the Superbrands"

The presenter, Alex Riley, spent time on each of the key technology brands and very succinctly managed to give some interesting and often surprising insights into their strategies for success.

He opened with Apple, which commands evangelical support from its disciples. We watch as an avid Apple fan has his head examined, literally, with an MRI scan. Electrical responses measured as he watched a slide show of technology items showed his brain light up when he saw Apple products. This response was the same as very devout religious people responding to the sight of their religious icons.

Riley asked the question on all our lips: "How does a brand work in religious terms?"

The answer he proposes is that it needs:

1. A Story: in Apple's case, two guys in a garage ...
2. The Antichrist: IBM
3. The Place of Worship: Apple stores and all the mysticism that surrounds their evangelical opening events
4. The Messiah: Steve Jobs who, like Jesus, was cast out by his people and, unlike Jesus (yet), had a Second Coming and rescued Apple from oblivion in the '90's with the iMac, iPod and all those other iThings.

An Apple store opens in Covent Garden

The programme then moved on to Microsoft explaining how IBM, who made the hardware, engaged Bill Gates to write the software and allowed him to keep the rights to everything he had written. Oops!

Then the astonishing fact that Sony's Playstation 3 costs $805 to manufacture and retails for $499, creating around $3 billion in losses for the company so far. The reason Riley gives for this is that Sony is using Playstation as a "Trojan Horse" for its BluRay disc technology in a bid to win against Toshiba's HD DVD. Sony is desperate not to repeat the mistakes of the '80's when its Betamax video cassette lost out to the VHS format from JVC. Apparently, the reason for their failure was prudishness and an unwillingness to allow the porn industry to use their video format. JVC had no such qualms and, these days, nor do Sony.

The programme continued with the story of mobile phones and how Nokia has become the Old Man of the industry, some evasive interviews with the folks from Facebook and finally Google, how they managed to position themselves as the gate-keeper of the internet.

And that, according to Riley, is the secret to the success of technology superbrands: they control the doorway to a larger experience. The reason Nokia is currently failing is that "they're just making gizmos".

Gang Culture

I'm all for exploring innovative ways to create brand awareness. We all go on about using "stories to engage brands with consumers" etc, but using 'literature' to sell expensive clothes to pre-schoolers is something I find a bit galling.

Curled up reading the wonderful The Week Magazine this evening, this story caught my eye and made me wonder how far brands will go to sell their wares.

Ralph Lauren have produced "The RL Gang: A Magically Magnificent School Adventure" (*cue finger down throat and theatrical retch*).

"Do we look like we're having fun?"

It follows the adventures of (presumably extremely wealthy) kids called names like Willow, Hudson and Willow as they skip through their impossibly Magnificent childhoods. You even get the chance to "look inside Oliver's closet" (Perverts!) and buy his Fair Isle cashmere sweater ($75).

“We are raising the bar by expanding the retail environment to new platforms,” said David Lauren, Executive Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Corporate Communications. “By delivering a best-in-class virtual shopping experience to both parents and their children, our customers can discover their style in a way that is engaging, informative and entertaining.”

... and possibly a bit lame.

If you're too busy to read to your precious darlings, don't worry, there's a video narrated by Uma Thurman so you can plonk them in front of the telly instead.

They're even donating to charity (not much, but a bit) to help foster that caring mother/baby-type vibe,

"As Polo Ralph Lauren is dedicated to children everywhere and the preservation of the arts and education, the Company will donate 15% of all proceeds from the first month of sales of the Childrenswear Spring 2011 collection on RalphLauren.com to Room to Grow—a charitable organization chosen by Uma Thurman. Room to Grow is an innovative program which provides parents raising babies in poverty with one-on-one parenting support and essential baby items throughout their children’s critical first three years of development."

The first MONTH of sales?

Well done, Ralph Lauren, for the magnanimous gesture but I think I'd rather dress my kids in something less prissy and take them to the park instead.

Leadership

There's a lot to be said about leadership. I saw this video of Beyoncé visiting some students at a school in Harlem and thought it just seemed to sum it up. Draw your own conclusions, but I was impressed how she mucked in with the unsuspecting girls and how they reacted to her - even if she did have the advantage of being an international star and looking like a bit of a diva.

A right royal knees up!

Well, I have to say I've never given a lot of attention to Kate and Wills in the past. When I start thinking about them, my mind wanders to other things. Like now I'm thinking about how nice it would be to have a new bathroom.

But anyway, my point is this: dull as they may be, I am fired up about their wedding! It's great to see the Union Flags out in force and people appearing to be enjoying being British, for a moment at least.

Of course there's lots of silly tat around masquerading as memorabilia, the saucy Crown Jewels condoms being one of the best of this ilk ...

...  and then there are lots of tasteful(-ish) things from places like John Lewis and Kath Kidston.

I have been surprised how scarce the limited edition branded packaging has been. How about some Heinz Beanz Royale for breakfast tomorrow? And where's the "My Soulmate, Marmite!" version?

Rowse have had a go. Understated and tasteful. I'm not sure it's something particularly collectible, but it would certainly look good on the breakfast table tomorrow and it looks tempting and ... well ... sweet.

One brand that has got it absolutely right is Pimms. Their Limited Edition packs are definitely ones I would like to own and keep. They've traded on their quintessential Britishness to full effect. They've put onto a label the way I feel about the Royal Wedding tomorrow: full on British and proud to be!

Glowing Heineken

The new Heineken Aluminium launched in Milan a few months ago. It combines the ice-cold feel of metal with the classic shape of a glass bottle. I just love the pattern printed with UV ink that only comes alive at night!

Really up the junction

I've been commuting these last couple of days. I never knew the full extent of this horror until I encountered ... The Junction. Blimey 'eck!

A nasty place

FASHION!

Christina Drejenstam

Bil Donovan

Bil Donovan

Cecilia Lundgren

Cecilia Lundgren

Hiroshi Tanabe

I've been looking for fashion illustrators today. It would be nice to be a fashion illustrator! Here are some of the best I found.

Letter Box

I came across this lovely letter box on my way to work this morning. Little things like this just bring a smile to your face!

The evolution of a pet shop brand

Yesterday, a place of mystery and exoticism ...

Today, something more palatable ...

... and bland.

A real Pick Me Up

Last night I joined some ex-colleagues from Pi Global to take a look at the design fair, Pick Me Up, at Somerset House. It was a fantastic evening and featured an array of talent from veteran designer Anthony Burrill and his open studio, to lettering artist, Jessica Hische bringing the art of hand-lettering into the 21st century.

Another designer who caught my eye included Brighton-based Zara Wood and her beautifully eccentric depictions of children.

Here's some other work I longed to take home with me ...

 

  

Anthony Burrill's studio was a hive of activity as were many others around the exhibition, Print Club London and The Puck Collective to name just a couple.

The evening was set to live music and drawing by Heavy Pencil and it was just a shame everyone got kicked out at 9pm. We could have stayed much longer!