A B-Side BY Armin

Winsor & Newton

About: (Est. 1832) “Winsor & Newton is the world’s leading brand of fine art materials and has developed an unrivaled reputation for quality, reliability and product innovation. We proudly maintain our pledge of manufacturing ‘The World’s Finest Artist’ Materials.’ We have built our reputation on the quality and reliability of our products, combined with continual product development, improvement and innovation. However, while keeping true to the principles laid down by William Winsor and Henry newton in the 1800’s we actively embrace new ideas, new technologies and search the world for the best raw materials available.”

Design by: Pearlfisher.

Ed.’s Notes: A nice update. Nothing too drastic. A handful of application images below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Press Release.

Select quote: “The original marque was lost on an information heavy pack. We have strengthened the hierarchy and optimisation on pack by giving the brand a strong and central place at the top — with the logotype redrawn and reformatted. The Griffin has been redefined and removed from the holding device of the arch to give it more status and clarity as a true icon that has more synergy with the brand.”

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Opinion BY Armin

Quirky Community

Established in 2009, Quirky brings inventors’ ideas to life and to market through an open process where community members provide ideas, which are then voted on, and each week the top five are discussed by the Quirky team to see which ones they’ll develop. They have launched over 300 products — from flexible power strips to egg yolk separators — that are sold online and across nearly 200 retail partners. A little over two years ago, Quirky redesigned its logo and last week it announced a new logo and identity designed in-house.

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Opinion BY Armin

Lucky Strike/s Out

First chewed and later puffed in 1871, Lucky Strike is a brand of cigarettes originally produced by the R.A. Patterson Tobacco Company and now owned by British American Tobacco. At one point in 1930, Lucky Strike was the leading cigarette brand, selling 40 billion of the little suckers. A success in part attributed to Lucky Strike’s aggressive targeting towards women in the 1920s and later when Raymond Loewy turned the package from green to white to make it more female friendly. Today, well, you can barely find Lucky Strike anywhere except online, in specialty smoking stores, and, apparently, in Germany, where a redesigned logo and packaging designed by G2 has appeared online. There is not much information available, in part because the German website is only accessible to computers in Germany and it’s not clear whether this change will apply to Lucky Strike in all countries or just Germany; all images are taken from Design Tagebuch.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Doritos

This post was updated March 27, 2013.

About: “Doritos (literally, from Mexican Spanish doradito or dorito: “turned golden”) is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips produced since 1964 by the North American food company Frito-Lay (a division of PepsiCo, Inc.).” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: Hornall Anderson

Ed.’s Notes: Yeah… I don’t know about that bolting triangle destroying the “o”. See it on the bigger view of the logo and before/after of the packaging below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Full line-up of Doritos variations. Taquitos.net redesign story (much more in-depth than I would ever care to get about it).

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A B-Side BY Armin

iNature Skincare

About: “iNature Skincare is an Australian brand with skincare products made of natural ingredients, free from parabens, artificial colours and fragrances. The packaging range consists of three products with different levels of hydration — Calendula Hydrate, Calendula Nourish and Calendula Repair.”

Design by: Bedow.

Ed.’s Notes: Pretty! A few more images below (or after the jump) including big view of the logo, and then some more at the link below.

Relevant links: Bedow case study.

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Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday Likes 35

Simplicity is the theme of today’s likes.

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Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday Likes 34

A norseman gets sandwiched between two food-related Likes on this Friday.

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Opinion BY Armin

Nivea Gets Rid of its Own Wrinkles

First produced in 1882 in Germany by pharmacist Carl Paul Beiersdorf, Nivea is today one of the leading skincare products in the world owned by Beiersdorf AG (which also owns Elastoplast, Eucerin, Labello, and La prairie). Nivea’s most well-known product is its original Nivea Crème which was first packaged in the iconic blue tin in 1925 and now serves as the basis for the “new global design language” introduced by Nivea this week, designed by San Francisco-based fuseproject.

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Opinion BY Armin

Tazo Drops the Gothic Act

Established in 1994 as an independent company and purchased by Starbucks in 1999, Tazo makes tea products and markets them as if tea were a higher calling. (I’m not knocking it, that’s just the way they do it — example of copywriting: “We experience the goodness of the leaves with all our senses, but most of all with our imaginations.”) Back in November new packaging started to appear in grocery stores and Starbucks and with the opening of the first Tazo store at University Village in Seattle a whole new identity has been introduced. No press release issue or design credit given. My guess is that it was internal, since Starbucks has such a strong in-house team. All the images below have been cobbled together from around the internet so it’s a little hodgepodge in terms of presentation, but you’ll get the point.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Glutino

About: (Est. 1983) “Glutino and Gluten-Free Pantry is a manufacturer and distributor specializing in gluten-free products. Since 1983, the mission of the Glutino Food Group has been to provide healthy gluten-free products and a healthy lifestyle to all those with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, wheat allergies and those who follow a gluten-free or wheat-free diet.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Silly type for a silly name, more stuff below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Breathe Right

About: “Breathe Right nasal strips are drug-free and clinically proven to lift nasal passages and open your nose the minute you put them on and work for as long as you have them on, relieving nasal congestion and improving airflow.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: I’m not usually one to ask “Aren’t the before/after images mistakenly reversed?” but when I got this tip I really thought the new one was the old one. The generic happy script typography of mass packaging isn’t necessarily my thing but this new logo makes me yearn for it. Before/after of the packaging below (or after the jump)

Relevant links: N/A.

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Opinion BY Armin

SSG: Health- and Design-Conscious

Established this year in the Chungdam neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea, SSG Food Market is a health-conscious food establishment that sells domestic and seasonal fresh food, traditional native food and eco-friendly products, health products with no chemical additives, and more. SSG’s identity, packaging, and environment have been designed by New York, NY-based Mucca.

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Opinion BY Armin

Follow-up: Windows 8

Back in February we reported on the new Windows 8 logo designed by Pentagram partner Paula Scher — a release that got its thunder stolen by the leaking of the logo (not by us) ahead of time (not our fault). Officially, the Windows 8 logo is this and eight months after it was “unveiled,” the actual software behind the new, non-flag-anymore-logo was launched this past Friday to much hoopla around the world. See launch video later in this post. As part of the OS re-launch, which is a major departure from past Windowses, Microsoft is taking this opportunity to kickstart its new branding — after all, Windows is only the most used operating system in the world, so a lot of people are paying attention. The branding effort which now covers Windows but will spread into other Microsoft products has been lead by Wolff Olins, who describe their role to be “to curate all of the components and contributions into one clear, creative brand experience for consumers.” In the case of Windows these contributions include new packaging with structural construction by IDEO, illustrations conceived in collaboration with and created by Colors and The Kids, and brand imagery and video by Todd Selby.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Mirácoli

About: Mirácoli is a popular line of pasta and sauces in Germany. Previously owned by Kraft Foods and now by Mars (the same company that, yes, makes the chocolates).

Design by: Turner Duckworth.

Ed.’s Notes: Worth noting that when the logo is used on packaging it becomes a plate. Before/After of packaging below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Design Tagebuch (with a few more images).

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A B-Side BY Armin

Jos. Louis

About: Jos. Louis is a popular and long-standing snack in Canada produced by Vachon. It is officially described as “Delicious sponge cake with vanilla-flavoured creme filling coated in a chocolatey layer.”

Design by: 123Klan.

Ed.’s Notes: Old and new boxes below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: 123Klan project page.

Select Quote: As for the new Jos Louis logo, it’s inspired by the actual cake: it features a creamy fat dark brown outline (chocolate icing), a second outline of a lighter brown (sponge cake), white letters (cream). The crown is a reference to Jos Louis’ status as the best-known/most sold snack cake in Canada.

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Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday Likes 20

Today I am breaking protocol with Friday Likes. Usually I have three projects lined up. Today I only have one. In part because it’s pretty badass and in part because there is no “more” link to point to to show you all these juicy images. So I figured this deserved its own Like post.

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Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday Likes 19

Generally, Friday Likes are of smaller scale projects in terms of client size and overall deployment needs, which makes sense as that’s where there is usually more room for out of the ordinary solutions. Today I have three bigger-ish projects that may not be as quirky or design-ey but they still have a lot to like.

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Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday Likes 18

This edition is inspired by the arrival of the 2011 Brand New Awards book on American soil from its printing in China. It’s still a few days before arrival at UCllc headquarters but it’s coming. It’s really coming, people! (We were slow on our end, which is why the book wasn’t ready in August like last year). Proof is in the first picture below (or after the jump); dig the laser-cut cover. Anyway: three winners from the book are liked this Friday.

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Opinion BY Armin

Sharapova’s Gummies

Launched last week, Sugarpova is a new line of twelve premium gummy candies in different, self-described “fun, unexpected” types and shapes imagined and “sold” by tennis superstar Maria Sharapova — hence, the product’s name — who is not just one of the great women tennis players of our time winning 27 WTA singles titles that include four Grand Slam singles titles but, at 25 years old, she is also a very astute business person, ranking 26 in Forbes’ World’s Highest Paid Athletes list that shows that $22 million of her total $27.9M earnings to date come from endorsements. Sugarpova will be sold at fashion store Henri Bendel in New York, available at hotel minibars, and at their own website. The new logo and packaging was designed by Brooklyn, NY-based Red Antler.

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Opinion BY Armin

Plaid Beer

Established in 1997 and located in Cooperstown, NY, Brewery Ommegang specializes in Belgian-style ales, including BPA, Hennepin, wheat, and amber ales among other regular and seasonal brews. Brewery Ommegang is owned by Belgian brewer Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat and is distributed throughout the U.S. and in some European countries. They recently introduced a new look designed by Minneapolis, MN-based Duffy & Partners and the newly packaged product will be available for purchase in early Fall of 2012.

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