The Good, The Bad and some of the Ugly

I took a trip to the local CVS and Vons in my neighborhood to complete my assignment. I came across some good looking packages and also some clever designs. I also did come across the old "played out" packages which should be rethought or just pulled off the shelves.

Here are some of the GOOD ones I came across:

This is a classic form of packaging. Everytime I see that bottle, I already know its Mrs. Butterworths Syrup without having to read the label.

Below are two different types of tires for a bicycle. The package on the left is very ordinary, a typical cardboard package with logo and description of the item, left picture shows front and right picture shows back of packaging. The package on the right is far more unique and interesting and even sporty in a way to compliment its purpose. The packaging is made of a flexible plastic material, and the back of the packaging has images to show you how to change a tire. The packagin on the right side definitely wins for me.

These red bottles on the left are Sobe drinks. The drink definitely caught my eye because of its smooth and curvy spiraled bottle. The look compliments the logo, since their logo is a gecko, and it gives the appearance of a tree wrapping to me and the gecko crawling up the side.

This package on the left is for an action figure toy. It has a thin cardboard backing with a tubular plastic shell encasing the action figure. I thought it looked cool and the bubble made the character look suspended in air giving it a 3D feel.

This package on the right is for a shower gel. I really liked the unique handle at the top which allows you to hang it from the shower handles or nozzle. It also had unique colors and patterns for the different smells.














There is nothing amazing about the blue bat and ball packaging below. I just like the way it is very practical and efficient for all of its purposes. It holds it up on the rack, holds the ball and the bat and also displays what it is above the ball. Saves space, nice and neat.

These three pictures are examples of good color cordination to differentiate the different scents for candles, flavors for chocolates, and flavors for drinks below.

Here are some of the BAD and the UGLY examples that I came across:

This is an example of a series that I thought was bad because it was trying to hard to be like the rest. This is the generic CVS brand for food, soap, etc. Although simple, I find that it lacks in taste and tries to hard to be like its competitors. It seems like they spent too much time thinking about conforming to the standard.

I found the cookie package below to be too basic and simple and boring. There is nothing eye popping about, not the color, not the design, not the lettering. Maybe a window to show the cookie would be good to give it a different color at least besides the pink.

This pillow and throw packaging was awful. It may have been better off without the carboard wrap on it and just a loose set. I found this packaging to be quite useless.

I didnt find this packaging below to be in the right era. It is a box for a set of binoculars, and maybe I'm wrong since the target market they may be going for is a bit older than me, thus this old fashion box may be more appealing to an old age group, but not for me.

There was a wall full of spices and herbs at Vons and when I saw it, I knew that these packages needed a facelift. They seem to be very old and somewhat generic. The color blend can be used much more tastefully than shown below.

The almond case needs to be innovated. I saw many different brands, all using the same tin can with pastic lid look. This one below is especially lame because of its very not so fancy cursive writing on the label. It makes it look very boring and generic. Planters had the right idea by using a glas jar shaped like their peanut mascot.

These two containers below are very commonly used and well know. They give the item a very industrial look which doesnt offer much appeal to the consumer. Id love to see that change with the hand whipes and the detergent container. 

Thanks for reading my blog. I'd love to hear what you have to say about these different styles of packages I've discussed.