The Blog

I visited the supermarket Asda recently and as stated on the Graphics blog I treated the store as a packaging museum and I looked around to see what I could find.

Firstly I noticed this DVD case for a children’s cartoon and the way it had been modified through the rounding of its corners and inclusion of a handle to make it safer and easier for a child to carry. I think this is a good idea as its safer for the child, and parents would probably be more inclined to buy that cartoon, than another similar one, purely for the novelty of the case and thought that has gone into it.

The second piece of packaging is a carton containing wine by Andrew Peace. The ‘FuturPak’ gives the consumer 33% more wine and is sold at the same price as a glass bottle. They state that its easier to re-seal, lighter to carry and that fewer resources are used in production, transportation and disposal than glass. The product definitely had shelf presence through its uniquenss and the environmental aspects of the idea are great but the only problem I can see is that if you wanted to buy wine to entertaining guests then a carton may not be the best idea, (but then again it could be a talking point and its not bad to be environmentally friendly) but for other wine purchases and occasions I think this is a strong idea that could be developed upon to create a style of carton that you would be proud to place on a table when entertaining guests.

I also noted the ideas that I had heard before about how as consumers we have become accustomed to what typefaces, colours and packaging styles say about a product, its origins and its price. For example the images above are at a glance all clearly trying to appear environmentally friendly, natural, simple, basic, unprocessed etc, through the simple type, brown hues, recycled appearance.

And similarly the above product uses green to show how natural, safe and healthy it is and the tins below draw on a local market style in its card boxes, typeface and design to convey a sense of locality and in turn trust that the product is safe and authentic.

As consumers we know what we are getting before we read the packaging in detail and we can make good assumptions about its price as well. For example the silver colour and script typeface below along with the products’ minimal design and shiny foil all convey a sense of the product being the best or luxury and we know it will hold a higher price tag.

Promotions feature heavily in all supermarkets and attempt to make consumers buy products they may otherwise not. Location of these promotions is also very important and it appears that they work as the tomato ketchup promotion below, located by the frozen food was considerably emptier than the shelf in the sauces aisle.

Finally, when you reach the till you are again confronted with products to buy as you wait in line. There a drinks, sweets and chocolates, and even paracetamol situated to maximise a consumers possible impulse purchases whether for their own consumption or more likely to appease a child.

Here are some links to some interesting packaging and supermarket articles that are worth a look.

This is the new Nestle Chocolate Museum in Mexico City designed by Rojkind Arquitectos in an origami style (and created in two and a half months including design).

Nestle Press Release…

“Why not create the first chocolate museum in Mexico and have a 300-meter long façade along the motorway as the new image of the factory. So the first phase took shape and required a 634m2 space that could accommodate the main entrance for the children to have the most pleasant experience and to start the voyage into the chocolate factory as soon as they enter this playful yet striking space, the reception area, the theater that would serve as preparation for the Nestle experience, the store or museum shop, and the passage to the tunnel inside the old existing factory. The concept: a playful folding shape that is evocative for kids, of an origami shaped bird or maybe a spaceship.”

For me the links to chocolate or Nestle aren’t apparent except maybe for the red having connotations of a Kit Kat, but the playfulness and creativity of the project is clear. To me the inside seems quite bland. Whether its unfurnished I’m not sure, but it feels a bit clinical or modern art gallery than a chocolate factory whose target would be children, but as for attracting visitors I think it should do the job through its appearance, location and the publicity it will attract.

Architectural plan…

Today I took a trip the the National Media Museum in Bradford and there were a few things that caught my eye. Firstly there was a display of photographys by Lionel De Rothschild of which the following is one…

The image was taken at London Zoo and caught my eye as it the Tiger who appears free as the puplic appear to be behind bars staring on with fascination as the Tiger looks around fairly indifferently.

Another thing I found strange and engaging was a short film recorded before the First World War on a tram heading out of Bradford. The cameraman was filming the streets as he passed and people were stopping, waving, speding up to get in shot so they could wave and racing to line up so that they could wave for a stranger with a video camera riding a tram. It occured to me how different a video recorded on a bus on the same route today would be as the only people who noticed would probably jesture at the camera or try to hide away from it.

I also made a note of the name Lotte Reiniger as I saw a still frame of a animation she had created and looked her up when I got back. Reiniger developed a technique of creating titles using cut out stencils to create complete animated silhouette films. I found the following clip of ‘The Little Chimney Sweep’ (1954) (apparently made for TV, but done to a lesser quality than her earlier films of which I couldn’t find any examples of) and felt it worth sharing as this is a style of storytelling that is pleasing to watch but also one that we hardly see today.

(Image taken from Wikipedia Article)

Whilst in London recently I visited the Natural History Museum and was really impressed by the exterior nearly as much as by the interior. The building was designed mainly by Alfred Waterhouse in a distinctive Romanesque style and was opened in 1881. It has since been dubbed, quite rightly so, the “Catherdral of Nature.”

I was impressed by the entrance and the pillars in particular, as they created such a sense of grandure through the extensive layering of the arches and pillars, and they served well to set the scene for the contents of the musuem. The design is also practical and appropriate as Waterhouse made extensive use of terracotta tiles to resist the sooty climate of Victorian London, many of which feature relief sculptures of flora and fauna - the museum’s main contents. But Waterhouse’s brief was restricted as Richard Owen, Superintendent of the natural history departments of the British Museum stated that relief sculptures of extinct and living animals must be situated on the east and west wings respectively as a reflection of his contemporary rebuttal of Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection.

To me the Natural History Museum was a building truely designed for and suited to its purpose.

— Addition —

In response to Claire’s post regarding the architecture of more of the building I have posted this photo.