Packaging is fun again!

I'm such a sucker for cool packaging. My family says I'm the pack rat, because I have more mint tins, cardboard sleeves and plastic containers than Costco. If it catches my eye I'll get it to keep for inspiration. These are a few examples of designs that won Pentawards. Pentawards are given out for worldwide packaging design. I know it might be cliche, but I love it when the packaging represents the use of the product like the detergent does. I also really liked the champagne bottle. It made something ordinary into something extraordinary just by flipping the bottle upside down and inverting the type. It gives the bottle's appearance a whole new shape. Check out the rest of the winners here.

"Humor is harder to do than sex. Well, not physically..."

I love ads that make me laugh. It not only engages you as the viewer, but it's also a great way to spread the word about whatever product you're selling. I know I'm more likely to tell my friends about the new hilarious commercial or ad I saw than one that's dull and boring. This ad is also a good example of good Photoshopping. Sometimes you see an ad that is clearly Photoshopped and it looks so fake it's hard for you to get beyond that. In this example it fits because it merely exaggerates the point of the ad. You have to see this full size to get the full effect lol. 

Hidden Logos

I always find it interesting when a well designed logo has multiple layers. It shows that the designer was not only designing aesthetically, but also semiotically. Even though some of these are only cool looking, others have deeper meanings. For example, the Museum of London logo is made up of what appears to be different colored transparencies. In reality, each shape symbolizes the shape that London once had. The schizophrenic one cracks me up because the designer used simple imagery to portray two different emotions at the same time. You can check out the rest here.

If you don't eat it up...

I love when ads have great imagery, just like these ads for Vanish do. Not only do they use a lot of white space to emphasize the size of the food stain, but they also add the elements of utensils to go with their headline, "If you don't eat it up, Vanish will." The only aspect of the ad that doesn't work for me is that I find the imagery so cute that I don't know if I'd want to use Vanish for fear of losing the little utensils lol. I think this ad is effective in that the imagery is bold, yet subtle enough that it forces you to really look at it. 

A baby can sell anything...including jail

This is an ad that I found that I thought was really interesting. At first I saw the thumbnail of the baby and I was like "Aww, how adorable!" Then I saw the tattoo on his neck and was like "What the..." After reading the tagline and copy I got what the ad was for, but I didn't need to read it to get the impact. We often see babies used to sell things from the obvious, like diapers, to the less obvious, like shares for E*trade. I think an ad is super successful if it has an image that is so powerful it makes you want to read the copy.

I wish...

I'm not really a fan of digital design, mostly because I'm crazy jealous of the skills these artists have that I do not. I think it's so cool that you can visualize all the layers that it takes to make a piece that's so complex, yet it fits together as a whole. I also like the tagline, "Feel the vibe, feel the music," even though it's a little difficult to read at a small size. I love music too, so this piece was a perfect choice for me. Check out the other designs here.

To Fedex: Be afraid. Be very afraid...

One of the coolest things about design is that it isn't limited to just one surface. Some of my favorite designs are ones that make their way into every day life. Take Facestape for example. It's really clever, and it addresses the issue of boring, plain brown boxes that we're forced into mailing to family and friends. I'm definitely going to keep this kind of design in mind when I'm working because it makes your brand multi-faceted. Plus, it's cool to think that your design is not only reaching thousands of people, but it's allowing them to interact with it and express their creativity as well.