Sweet Packaging!

Hey everyone! I wanted to share some really creative and cute packaging that I saw on Pinterest. As you can see its a printable cupcake container. I love it because its shaped like oven, which is so cute and unique!

I found another product that had unique packaging where lightbulbs mimic ice cream cones. I absolutely love this kind of fun packaging and I really appreciate the thought that comes with. I never really thought of a light bulb looking like ice cream!

Okay, one more! Not only was this packaging really cute and eye-catching, but it also ties into the name of the product. Personally I would have liked some spots on the cow to emphasize its cow-ness but it’s still effective either way. Using the cap as the halo was another nice touch! I’d really like how you can see through the bottle so that way the cow’s look can change whether the milk is chocolate or strawberry!

This is all for now, but if you want a direct link to these images just give them a click! Until next time!

Fashionable or Frivolous?

For $365 you'll never have to worry about a bruised apple again!

I’m sorry that it’s been a while but I’m back! My goal is to write at least one post on this blog a week so hopefully I’ll be able to achieve it. Whenever something new and seemingly innovative comes out it makes me wonder if it’s really worth the price. I mean, we’ve done without it before it was invented so why is it so important now? When I see something designer with a ridiculous price tag it makes me think about the people who would actually buy this stuff. I have nothing against designer brands but sometimes I just have to shake my at the thought of people buying these products just for the brand. One of the newest items I found was an apple carrier. Yes, an apple carrier. I like the overall design, the apple IS very cute, but I wouldn’t by it just to carry around an apple. It’s a cute idea but at $365 I definitely think this is waste of money. For that price you get something much more useful and practical.  If you’d like something more suitable for a certain furry companion of yours you could also splurge on a $500 outfit for you cat. Which I bet he/she won’t even appreciate. One of the things that I would actually consider buying if it weren’t so pricey would be a designer bath mat. I like the simple design, maybe the fact that it has my first initial on it helps too, and I love the colors but at $145 I’m still not buying it. The beautifully designed diapers are the only thing I think I would actually by if they weren’t diapers. I don’t have any kids but even if I did these things are going to go straight to the trash after they’re used so why bother? Some of these things are just plain ridiculous rather than useful but they’re still fun to look at. Who knows, maybe Tie Trees will end up being a big thing.

Check out the other stuff I mentioned here: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/18-absurd-and-frivolous-designer-items-2407377#photoViewer=1

A Quite Cute webpage!

I recently visited the MAC cosmetics website and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Small graphics of cuteness starting popping up all over the place and I just had to write about this! I love the little graphics that pop all over the screen, not only are they really cute but I think it’s a great way to advertise for the new makeup collection MAC has just made. The collection is called Quite Cute and although the screen and the face charts ( showing the different makeup looks) are decorated with cute graphics the makeup itself isn’t very cute at all. Seeing all these cute graphics made me think that those same graphics would also appear on some of the make-up casing or packaging itself. If you look at some of the makeup products they have the regular black MAC packaging. This made me really disappointed because the only thing about these products that was cute were the names of the shades. I’m not sure but I think if MAC had made the packaging and casing of the products cuter their sales of this collection would have really done well. Not only would it attract more of a young audience but also people who are attracted to these kind of graphics. MAC has done a great job on some of the packaging for collections in the past so I felt kind of let down that this collection just didn’t live up to its name. I did like the how the website was modified for this collection but seeing the plain black packaging made me feel like the site and products didn’t match with each other. Overall I thought the website was good but held a false promise.

Check out the site here: http://www.maccosmetics.com/index.tmpl

See some of the graphics (that should have been on the products themselves) here: http://www.maccosmetics.com/images/looks/print/quitecutelooks.pdf

Not so pretty Phones

Don't hate me 'cause I'm functional

Admit it. One of the reasons you picked the cell phone you have is because of how it looks. When it all comes down to it, no matter what the functions a phone has, its looks are a major factor. That’s where this list of the 13 Ugliest Phones comes in. After looking at them I don’t think I’d go as far as to use the word ugly to describe them. I don’t know, to me they’re not that bad. Outdated? Yes. Ugly? Meh. They may not be attractive but it’s not their fault, poor cell phones. Anyways I the biggest problems I had with the design of these phones is their shapes. The more modern looking phones have a square shape to them and I just don’t like them. They’re too square. Plus they’re to hard to get a good grasp on and they’re keyboards tend to be small. I actually don’t mind the shape of the Nokia 7600, it’s the screen and front of the phone that I don’t like. For me the screen is way too small and all the buttons make the surface look cluttered. The Sony Ericsson t61z is another on my least liked, it looks too much like a house phone and the shape is unattractive to me. To me Nextel phones in general are unattractive; I realize they have to be durable but can’t they look good at the same time? My overall opinion is that they are bad but they’re not that bad. These are just a few off the list of phones, check out the article if you want to see more.

Check out the rest here: http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/576/13-ugliest-phones-of-the-mobile-era/ 

Pretty Little Books

I recently started reading the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard, and I instantly loved them. You’re probably wondering how this applies to this blog since what I do on here is focus on design. One thing I really love about these books is the covers. After reading the first two books I really found that the design of the cover really suited the series. I love how symbolic the plastic Barbie-like dolls are and I think they are a perfect choice for these books. The dolls really represent how the girls make themselves look and seem perfect when they really are fake and dishonest about who they are. The fact that a doll is something that can be controlled is also something I really liked. In the book the main characters are being blackmailed into doing things in exchange for keeping their secrets so I thought that the use of the doll was perfect in this aspect as well. Another thing I loved was that these dolls weren’t just generic looking dolls; it was obvious that these dolls were made to look like the characters. Doing this just made the design more connected to the book. I really love the shorelines of the books themselves but the book cover alone makes me want to purchase the books just for the designs!

 

Pretty Little Liars Book 1

 

Check out the other covers and the books here:  http://www.prettylittleliars.com/books/

Remembering Your Audience

Something that caught my eye in the news recently was the topic of an advertisement being changed for a certain audience. The advertisement for the clothing company H&M was deemed too revealing for the company’s market group in Dubai. The ad features famous model Gisele Bundchen in clothing that many Americans would feel isn’t very revealing at all. Since a more modest way of dressing is popular and more socially acceptable to the people of Dubai the ad was tweaked to gain more popularity and less controversy. Reading about this really made me think about how companies, and designers, really have to get to know their audience/customers. It’s a known fact that you can’t please everyone but you don’t want to disregard their beliefs or cultures when you’re trying to sell a product either. What they did to modify the ad was just to Photoshop in a white t-shirt underneath Gisele’s clothing. I actually thought the first image looked pretty nice. I really just wanted to shed some light on this because it reminded me that as a designer you always have to be thinking about who is going to see your design. It also showed  how cultural beliefs could play a large part in how your design is perceived.

Check out the ads here: http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/thefamous/giseles-h-m-ads-digitally-altered-for-dubai/931?nc

Tarina Tarantino: Cute or Kiddy?

Something I really love is the packaging of products,  I probably mentioned this before but just a FYI in case you didn’t know. I’ve gotten to the point where if I find a product I’m going to use and I love the packaging and can’t live without not looking at it every couple

I have the lip gloss on the left

 of days I have to buy it. That being said when I found a Tarina Tarantino lip gloss on sale with a very cute graphic I couldn’t resist and came back and bought it, after leaving and telling myself  “no”  beforehand. I looked around at some of the other items on sale but by taking a closer look I noticed how some of the products were cheap looking. I think the big problem is the shiny plastic used for the cases of the eye shadow and the lipglosses. The one I got wasn’t that cheap looking but some of the others looked like something you would find in a kid’s play makeup set. Not a very appealing look considering these products are supposed to be for women. The regular cost of some of these items are pricey so having a cheap looking product to show for it is disappointing. Since these products are on sale and the collection is still being sold I’m think some new packaging is in order. The graphics of the labels and sticker on some of these products were really nice so it is kind of a disapointment.  Hopefully this time they’ll make their products actually look like how much their items regularly cost.

Simple Sells

From all of the websites I’ve been looking at, and from thinking about my own website that I’m working on, I’ve discovered something. Simple sells. Whether it’s a product or idea, simple graphics and navigation tend to equal success, at least in my opinion. My main examples

An example of Toki Doki graphics

 are Toki Doki and Hello Kitty (created by Sanrio). I actually came across these examples when I was thinking of things to include on my website that show my interests and likes. While I was thinking about Toki Doki and Hello Kitty, both companies whose graphics I love, I thought about the huge successes of these companies and how that came to be. The graphics and the characters are so simple and easy to re-create so wondered why I, or anyone else, hadn’t been able to come up with an idea like that. Hello Kitty is huge and is loved by so many people; Toki Doki is gaining in popularity and has a vast array of products to choose from. I’m not sure why these characters and graphics appeal to me so much but I know the simple cuteness has something to do with it. I also love the creativity of the creator of Toki Doki and how the characters are made up of objects like cacti, milk cartons, and donuts. Overall I love how simple the characters from both companies are and I think the simplicity of them adds to why they are so popular.

An example of Hello Kitty graphics

Check out Toki Doki here: http://www.tokidoki.it/

Check out Sanrio (Hello Kitty) here: http://www.sanrio.com/

Monopoly Makeover

Monopoly, the popular board game played by millions is going to get a new high-tech makeover. I can’t say I’m happy with this, I’m actually kind of sad. Like most things monopoly is going to get digital. This means no more colorful paper money, no Chance and Community Chest cards and no dice. Not only that but you don’t need to think for yourself because the computer tower in the center of the board will tell you what to do the whole time! So what do YOU do? Not much. Yes you still have to decide what properties to purchase and move your little pawn around the board, the only object that they didn’t computerize, but

Why does the tower remind me of Lord of the Rings?

 that’s basically it. To me this isn’t even a game, you basically just sit there waiting for the computer tower to tell you want to do. Although it sounds boring to me I’m sure someone will love this but I feel the whole spirit of the game is gone. The tower also looks a bit foreboding and like something from the Lord of the Rings. Maybe that creepy all-seeing eye is in there somewhere too. Monopoly is one of the games I grew up playing and that I still play with my family today. This also makes me worried for future generations and what they may miss out on. I can’t imagine having kids someday and playing a game where no thought or real decisions are made. I realize this is just a game but I’ve had a lot of good memories with this game and wanted to pass them on. Boo to you Hasbro 😦

Link to the article here: http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/396-new-monopoly-trades-money-and-dice-for-no-nonsense-computer

Wonder Woman Takes over MAC

One of the MAC Wonder Woman lipsticks, I love the design!

MAC Cosmetics has done it again with providing a very cool new website for their most recent collection. Although I’ve only bought a couple of items from MAC I always visit their website to check out what cool packaging and graphics they have used for their website and products. The only thing about  MAC is that its kind of hit or miss with their graphics and designs. Some collections have really unique and interesting designs while others…not so much. Their newest collection is the Wonder Woman line of cosmetics that includes some really great designs. To start off when you first go the website the main page shows a cartoon strip/page  of Wonder Woman that includes animated graphics. On the page are two, what I call, action bubbles that take you to either the products or a contest page. The first page with the cartoon may seem a little busy but I still like the whole idea of incorporating the cartoon strip into the webpage. Overall I really like how this webpage was done and really like all of the designs. Moving on to the design of the products; I also really like the designs of the products and how the character was incorporated. Although the character herself isn’t on any of the products her logo is always the main focus. If you look at the lipsticks or eyeshadow palettes the logo is really front in center. I also like how MAC’s logo doesn’t overpower the Wonder Woman logo and keeps her as the main focus. I also like how all of the well-known Wonder Woman colors are shown on every product. I think that designs and just look of everything is really beautiful, they colors just work. I just hope I don’t get suckered in to buying something for the design because I like so much. If  you do some research and look back on some other collection designs I think this is one of the most successful.  Well done MAC!

To see more of the collection visit: www.maccosmetics.com