Owen, a luxury NYC clothing boutique, has turned the humble lunch bag into an improbably chic method of decoration.
Architect Jeremy Barbour recently realised the decorative potential of the humble brown paper bag – covering Owen’s clothing boutique in 25,000 of them. Packed side-by-side and stapled to substrate, the bags make the shop look like the inside of a honey bee’s home.
Guactruck is a mobile eatery from the Philippines with beautifully sustainable packaging. (Many tx to Charlotte in Singapore)
Free from glue and plastic, the origami-inspired packaging opens like a blossoming bud. Customers are encouraged to return their packaging with stamps towards a free meal. Guactruck is a fine example of a brand reducing its environmental impact without compromising on design.
The December issue of Monocle is packed with enough editorial to satisfy a long holiday commute. One of the standout features covers Menicon’s latest Magic Flat Pack- the first flat daily disposable contact lens. The logo and packaging is beautifully designed and mimics the daily cycle of the sun, a perfect parallel for the brand.
The Chinese packaging design for A Wisp of Tea echoes the peaceful nature of tea ceremony. The brown tea packaging is decorated with tiny burn holes that both ventilate the product and make a nod to the special tea-drying process.
Swedish packaging design agency, Tempix, has created a barcode that vanishes once a product reaches its sell-by date so it can’t be scanned past date. It points to the future of intelligent packaging, where consumers won’t need to rely on brands or retailers to make a decision on freshness.
Bottled beer massively outsells canned beer in the US. But this could soon be about to change as more craft beer companies (or micro-breweries) are choosing cans, with the support of mainstream grocers.
Duane Reade, a New York City drug store chain, knows how to have fun with their product packaging. Their party cups are “beer pong certified” and their toilet paper proudly boasts “From Midtown To Flushing.” They even turned their barcode into the Statue of Liberty (thanks to Alex for the spot).
Ex-Nike executive Daniel Birnbaum has transformed SodaStream from an ‘aerating liquid apparatus’ into a sexy soda-maker taking over granite countertops across the globe – and surpassing $150 million in revenue. Just like Method did with cleaning products, SodaStream shifted the product mindset from functional to lifestyle through beautiful, award-winning design.
This was perfectly timed to a changing world and increased health and environmental awareness. It takes 100 million barrels of oil to produce 140 billion bottles and cans of soda and water each year – that’s enough oil to run one million cars – and SodaStream could make fizzy bottles obsolete. On a healthy note, Sodastream has over 20 natural syrups that don’t use high-fructose corn syrup or Splenda.
Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary celebration includes commemorative cans designed with British illustrator and toy designer, James Jarvis. Curated by Kevin Poon of CLOT and Communion W, the series features six limited edition cans with Jarvis’ signature characters, currently only available in Hong Kong.
Alcohol brands and compelling product stories go hand in hand. Doss Blockos pale lager tells the story of the gritty, lo-fi squat scene of 90s New York.
Created by Melbourne-based East Ninth Brewing Company, the lager evokes the sub-culture of art, music, partying and home brewing that the squat fraternities were famous for. It’s named after the Dos Blockos building, a famous NYC squat, and each bottle is wrapped in a brown paper bag, a nod to hiding alcohol from the police. The lager is stripped back with a malty flavor and 4.6% ABV.
Via. http://www.springwise.com/food_beverage/dossblockos/
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