11.16.09
Most label converters work closely with package designers. Some converters will have design capability in-house, but even for those who don't, working with designers is likely a big part of their day-to-day operation. An understanding and appreciation of good package design will help the converter provide better service to their customers by being able to provide design suggestions and direction. Luckily there are dozens of blogs available to help the label converter develop their eye for design. We review several here. Some of these blogs showcase great package design while others provide more educational content, but they will all help you improve your package design skills and understanding.
The Dieline calls itself "the world's No. 1 package design website." This is obviously a bold claim, but in many ways it really is the leader in this category. The blog features examples of truly inspiring graphic design, all of it beautifully photographed, usually with some commentary about the designer and the package itself. It is prolific, with three to four posts a day, most featuring multiple designs. One of the amazing things about The Dieline is that, despite its popularity (it has the most traffic of any package design blog, according to alexa.com), it is a part time operation. Andrew Gibbs, who started the site in 2007 and is still the editor in chief, works a day job as the creative director at a major consumer beverage company.
Lovely Package has the same goal as The Dieline, showcasing beautifully designed packaging. It has more of an international flavor with many of the blog posts featuring packaging designed in Europe. It is a curious blog in that it is completely anonymous. There is no About page and no names are used anywhere on the site. But it does receive a lot of traffic and it succeeds in its mission of featuring stunning packaging. One useful feature of this blog is a resources list, which provides a couple of dozen useful links for the package designer.
The Package Unseen is the blog of Richard Shear, the founding principal and creative director of the Shear Partnership. Shear brings his more than 25 years of consumer package design experience to his blog. I love his definition of a package: "Created as a vessel, designed as an icon, sold as a brand, and consumed with both passion and derision." This demonstrates the creativity and flair he brings to the blog. It is not just a commentary on package design, as Shear also provides us with a bigger picture view of the design world and how package design interacts with business and culture. He provides a unique perspective, presenting new ideas that make the reader stop and think.
Packaging of the World, as the name suggests, features beautifully designed packaging from all over the world. It is a design archive in a similar vein to The Dieline and Lovely Package, but in some ways this is the most easy to use blog of all three. What I like about Packaging of the World is that rather than providing the full blog post with many photos the way most blogs work, it provides a small snapshot of every package it features. This way you can easily scroll down the list and just click on the packages (to read the full article) you find most interesting. If you are interested in just one category, such as bath and beauty, you can easily click on that category heading and show only designs within that category. As the name implies, it has an international focus, it is run by someone named Subby, who works for a design agency in Singapore.
Randy Ludacer is the founder of Beach Packaging Design, a small package design firm based in New York City. Box Vox is his blog. Ludacer writes a new post pretty much every day, providing commentary mostly on some kind of consumer packaging. But this is not run of the mill commentary on such things as the latest Pepsi can design. He chooses a range of eclectic topics. For example, recently he wrote about some artwork made of prescription pill bottles, an interesting soup and cigarette packaging combo, and some 1920s light bulb shaped perfume bottles just to name a few topics. Box Vox really does venture outside the box.
The Dieline (http://www.thedieline.com/)
The Dieline calls itself "the world's No. 1 package design website." This is obviously a bold claim, but in many ways it really is the leader in this category. The blog features examples of truly inspiring graphic design, all of it beautifully photographed, usually with some commentary about the designer and the package itself. It is prolific, with three to four posts a day, most featuring multiple designs. One of the amazing things about The Dieline is that, despite its popularity (it has the most traffic of any package design blog, according to alexa.com), it is a part time operation. Andrew Gibbs, who started the site in 2007 and is still the editor in chief, works a day job as the creative director at a major consumer beverage company.
Lovely Package (http://lovelypackage.com/)
Lovely Package has the same goal as The Dieline, showcasing beautifully designed packaging. It has more of an international flavor with many of the blog posts featuring packaging designed in Europe. It is a curious blog in that it is completely anonymous. There is no About page and no names are used anywhere on the site. But it does receive a lot of traffic and it succeeds in its mission of featuring stunning packaging. One useful feature of this blog is a resources list, which provides a couple of dozen useful links for the package designer.
The Package Unseen (http://richardshear.wordpress.com/)
The Package Unseen is the blog of Richard Shear, the founding principal and creative director of the Shear Partnership. Shear brings his more than 25 years of consumer package design experience to his blog. I love his definition of a package: "Created as a vessel, designed as an icon, sold as a brand, and consumed with both passion and derision." This demonstrates the creativity and flair he brings to the blog. It is not just a commentary on package design, as Shear also provides us with a bigger picture view of the design world and how package design interacts with business and culture. He provides a unique perspective, presenting new ideas that make the reader stop and think.
Packaging of the World (http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/)
Packaging of the World, as the name suggests, features beautifully designed packaging from all over the world. It is a design archive in a similar vein to The Dieline and Lovely Package, but in some ways this is the most easy to use blog of all three. What I like about Packaging of the World is that rather than providing the full blog post with many photos the way most blogs work, it provides a small snapshot of every package it features. This way you can easily scroll down the list and just click on the packages (to read the full article) you find most interesting. If you are interested in just one category, such as bath and beauty, you can easily click on that category heading and show only designs within that category. As the name implies, it has an international focus, it is run by someone named Subby, who works for a design agency in Singapore.
Box Vox (http://www.boxvox.net/)
Randy Ludacer is the founder of Beach Packaging Design, a small package design firm based in New York City. Box Vox is his blog. Ludacer writes a new post pretty much every day, providing commentary mostly on some kind of consumer packaging. But this is not run of the mill commentary on such things as the latest Pepsi can design. He chooses a range of eclectic topics. For example, recently he wrote about some artwork made of prescription pill bottles, an interesting soup and cigarette packaging combo, and some 1920s light bulb shaped perfume bottles just to name a few topics. Box Vox really does venture outside the box.