“In the increasingly virtual world, our senses are hungry for stimulation. I believe that there will be a powerful place in the future for brands that engage in tangible relationships with consumers. To the senses, nothing is truly hidden, and the best designs are the stuff of pure revelation.”
Kleenex® is a household name, often a universal name for tissue. One student, Jessie McGuire found out the difference between a universal name and a billion dollar brand. Christine Mau, the Brand Design Director of Family Care brands at Kimberly-Clark the parent company of Kleenex brand facial tissue, has been at the forefront of innovative design and brand initiatives. Generous with her time, she took a few minutes from her busy schedule to talk branding, design, and nose blowing for the new book Brand Bible: The Complete Guide to Building, Designing and Sustaining Brands. >>Read More
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Last Friday, as I was desperately trying to escape another brutal NYC heat wave (and trying to avoid my 5th floor walk-up at any cost) I found myself outside The Museum of Modern Art mostly for solace in their perfectly-tempered-central-air-conditioned galleries.
Imagine my surprise when completely by chance, I stumbled upon Fluxus artist, George Maciunas’, One Year installation.
As a person who has a love (err obsession) of all brands – I was moved by Maciunas’ humble and simplistic approach in capturing a year in the life of these brands in such a beautifully creative way. As branders, we often find ourselves entrenched in a daily battle of defending our beloved brands, so for Maciunas to perfectly bring these brands their deserved honor, was beyond glorifying.
The installation itself was Maciunas’ One Year endeavor from 1973 – 1974 that displays the empty containers and packaging of various food and household products that Maciunas consumed over the course of a year.
Not only does the exhibit provide an intense look into the monotonous daily life of Maciunas, but it also takes the visitor back in time, to the consumer landscape in America of the 1970s.
My immediate reaction to One Year, (besides wondering ‘what Maciunas was doing with all that McCormick’s vanilla’, and ‘boy did he go through a ton of Tungsram light bulbs’) was this snapshot of time where not only does life seem simpler, but brands were gloriously simple, to the point they literally shelf-pop you in the face. From the bright, burst of primary colors to the bold, graphic typestyles – I was immediately transported to a time I had not had the pleasure of experiencing until now.
Now I know the bulging aisle at my corner bodega is a far cry from the pristine Instruction Lab at MoMA – but to me, these empty containers were full of confidence and bravado. Fast-forward some 35 years later, and our jobs as branders are tested more than ever to create something unique in a sea of more times than not, over-stocked shelves for an over-stimulated consumer.
If an average shopper really only takes 5 seconds or less to make a decision at shelf, it brings me to wonder, how as brand designers, can we effectively get our consumer to slow down, and give our brands the attention they deserve?
One Year is on exhibit for the first time at MoMA as part of “Contemporary Art from the Collection”
Samantha Schroeder, Design Management
We’ve been published! An article of ours on the importance of bioplastics development and the impact of sustainable packaging on the industry at large, was recently posted at Popsop.com.
Check it out here: You Say Potato, I Say Let’s Do it
And feel free to weigh in with your comments, arguments and suggestions for building a more earth-sustaining future in our industry.
Read more at popsop.com
With summer and, more importantly, GRILLING season just around the bend, we’re really excited to see a new type of RTD out on the market from Jack Daniel’s– there’s nothing like whiskey and some steak!
Along with a nicely-executed design, we couldn’t help but notice that Jack is one of the first RTD mixed drinks from a major brand that’s housed in an aluminum bottle– a trend we we felt was destined to heat up in the wine and alcohol category. Aluminum is great for super-cold drinks, a lot safer in the backyard or around pools, it’s a sustainable choice and has an excellent shelf life.
Looks like whiskey is now out with the solid lead and we’re eager to try the new Jack. We’re curious tho- What’s the appropriate nick name for these tasty looking suckers?
Now you can easily traverse the most important trends in brand design that continue to impact our strategies right now:
Get the full story: HERE
As all the forward-thinking players of the CPG market ramp up their efforts in reducing carbon footprint through packaging innovation, creating packaging that is fully recyclable, lighter and more locally distributed, the wine category in particular has seen some convention-busting changes in its presentation of late—and those may be here to stay… (more…)
…Or… the tenants of RTD brand virtue, package and soul.
Take a brief spin past the beverage cases at the drug or convenience store and it’s apparent that there are too many options for a consumer who has already begun scaling back spending on sports drinks, enhanced water and functional teas. In 2009 there were close to 1,000 new RTD product launches or variants to existing RTD brands introduced to market with fruit juices leading the pack. The mindset and the category output are simply not in line, but beyond that, product and packaging promises do not adequately reflect what our consumer needs right now. (more…)
