sneakydesign

Work by the creative mind behind Creative Mints

The creative mind behind Creative Mints is named Mike. He’s based in Prague and is already 12 years an awesome artist, working as a freelancer.

Look at his precise work and all the little details in his illustrations! Please, just take a look and be amazed!

 

by Mike from Creative Mints

Icon Set by Mike from Creative Mints

by Mike from Creative Mints

Bugs (Rezonum & Collectoris) by Mike from Creative Mints

 

by Mike from Creative Mints

iOS Game / Slots by Mike from Creative Mints

by Mike from Creative Mints

Website Oscar Breton by Mike from Creative Mints

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IOS Game

 

by Mike from Creative Mints

Logo by Mike from Creative Mints

by Mike from Creative Mints

Logotype by Mike from Creative Mints

by Mike from Creative Mints

by Mike from Creative Mints

Steam-powered jellyfish by Mike from Creative Mints

Steam-powered jellyfish by Mike from Creative Mints

 

 

Want to see more a lot of interesting designs from Tad Carpenter?
Check out one of his websites:

Website
Dribbble

Stay up to date with the sneakydesign facebookpage. 

Interview with: Tad Carpenter

Long time no post but this week I’m back with an interview with the great Tad Carpenter.

 

He was lucky enough to grow up as the son of two artists in the middle of the midwest. His father is an illustrator and has been a creative director for Hallmark Cards for nearly 40 years. His mother is a talented fiber artist. Surrounding himself with creatives, Tad also married a designer, Jessica.

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Tad Carpenter Creative’s overall approach to branding, strategy, and design have gained wonderful clients ranging from Target, Macy’s, Land of Nod, Rayban, Nick Jr, MTV and Adobe. Tad’s work has appeared in numerous publications and he has written/illustrated a number of children’s books in the market today. Since 2009, Tad also teaches Graphic Design at the University of Kansas.

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YEAH! BURGER

YEAH! BURGER

Q – Where did you attend college? Why?
A – I attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence (Rock, Chalk!!!). Lawrence is an amazing city and has an amazingly beautiful University. The graphic design program is top notch and I have been honored to go back as an instructor at the University since 2009. Not to mention, basketball was invented at our University and we have Allen Fieldhouse! Have you seen our hoops team? Best of the best y’all.

“I’m a firm believer in taking risks as an artist. If you just sit back and play it safe all the time, your work’s going to be pretty vanilla…”

Q – Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?

A – My biggest influence is my Dad, Stephen Carpenter. He is the most talented illustrator I have ever seen. He has taught me everything I know about design, composition, drawing—everything really. He would stay up late nights with me drawing and encouraging me on all my projects growing up. He also introduced me to a lot of mid-century illustrators that have continued to shape the way I make marks. People like Aurelius Battaglia, Dick Bruna, Tom Eckersley, The Provensens, Mary Blair, M. Sasek, Daphne Padden, Jim Flora, Alexander Girard. This list could go on for a while if we don’t just stop now.

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Q – What is, to you, the most important step in the designing proces?

A – Lots of drawing—good old-fashion pencil and paper drawing! I can’t start designing anything until I sketch out a concept on paper and create a plan for myself. Whether it is a poster, book jacket, logo or simple type treatment, I start with a sketch. To me, spending more time upfront on concept and less on execution is always a recipe for success. Even as I move into a final execution of a project, maintaining that human element is important for me. When I start designing in system, I bring in as many hand drawn elements as I can. I don’t ever want myself to disappear from my work.

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Q – Was there a point in your life when you decided you had to take a big risk to move forward?

A – I think that for any illustrator or designer, cutting the cord to your 9 to 5 job is a risk. It’s scary and if you’re not scared, maybe it’s not for you. I think a little fear is nice motivation. I like to be a little uneasy with things because it pushes me that much harder. It’s like walking out on thin ice and asking, “Can I stand here? Okay, I can.” It keeps me on my toes. Going out on my own was definitely the biggest risk I’ve taken so far, but you have to take risks; you can’t stay in the same place all the time.

Although, my wife and I just started a new adventure, which is scaring the pants off me. We bought a plot of land and are going to build an office and home in the same location. My wife is also a graphic designer who is amazingly talented and a huge support to me; very rarely do I do anything that doesn’t get passed by her. I’ll be working in the new office and she works at branding firm here in Kansas City so she goes into their office. We’re going to design and build the space, which is very exciting.

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Case-Mate mobile phone collection

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Q – What does a typical day look like for you?

A – If I don’t go and work out first thing in the morning, I’m a jerk to deal with all day, so I like to get up around 6am or so and go to the gym. I start my work day around 8:30am. The quicksand that is email is right off the bat. After I get my inbox to a comfortable place, I try to get into the flow of working on projects. I don’t have a lot of face to face meetings because most of my clients aren’t in town. It’s mostly phone calls or email correspondence. I work until about 6pm or so, meet up with my wife for dinner, and hang out for a while. Then I usually go back to work in the wee hours to get a few more things done and get caught up before the next morning punches me in the face.

I only teach two days a week. Those days are totally different. My first class is at 8:30am and my second class is at 11:30am. I usually get back to the office by about 2:30pm to get back to work. On days I teach, I work pretty late because I need to still get a full days work in.

That’s about a typical day for me—total snoozefest.

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SIGUR ROS

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ARCTIC MONKEYS

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DEER HUNTER

Q – What advice would you have for a young designer?

A – Don’t be in a hurry. Take your time to find out who you are as a designer and find your voice. I often see students who really want to work for themselves right out of school or very early on in their careers. My advice to them is always go work for someone you respect or admire for at least 3-5 years. Get paid to learn our industry and grow into your voice as a designer before taking that leap. Always remember how lucky we all are to be working in this industry. There is a lot of really awful jobs out there and we get to be paid for something we love to do. Never lose site of that.

Also, in general, drop your ego. I am so passionate about what we all do, but at the same time, we’re not curing cancer. To walk into a room with a giant head and ego is extremely unattractive.

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BLACK BOUQUET PRINT SERIES

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BLACK BOUQUET PRINT SERIES

 

Want to see more a lot of interesting designs from Tad Carpenter?
Check out one of his websites:

Website
Twitter
Facebook

 

Aris Zenone Studio

What is Aris Zenone Studio?
Their work combines and develops a diverse range of work across multiple disciplines including print design, identity and web. They help their clients communicate their message clearly and intelligently. Is important for them to create an efficient and targeted communication that is uniquely conceived, giving added value to each project. They work with a network of artists, photographers and printers that share the same philosophy.

 

Title: Cura. Magazine AD & Poster
Cura. is a curatorial platform that revolves around the production of a quarterly magazine (cura.magazine), a publishing house (cura.books) and a space (cura.space), through which it investigates the contemporary artistic production and promotes the most actual developments of the emerging practice, thanks to the collaboration with international artists and curators, the production of artists books, limited editions, exhibition projects and curatorial consulting.

Cura. Magazine AD & Poster


Title: Kaleidoscope Arena – Identity
A mini-festival dedicated to three key cities in contemporary art, Rome, Paris and Los Angeles. On the occasion of the fourth edition of ROMA – The Road to Contemporary Art, KALEIDOSCOPE presents KALEIDOSCOPE ARENA, a dedicated space that will host panels, events, and performances in the public area of the fair at MACRO Testaccio, Rome from May 6 to May 8, 2011.

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Title: Toi, Mois, Nous…
Toi, Moi, Nous is a publication of a case study about how better promote organs donation and transplant in Switzerland.

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WKND – Branding
WKND is a club that proposes a great variety of quality activities. Its multifaceted and energetic nature was conveyed in the development of the logo and the graphic identity. Every element in the logo can stand on its own, so as to possibly bring enrichment to the various formats.

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Want to see more a lot of interesting designs from Aris Zenone Studio?
Check out one of their websites:
Personal website
Twitter
Facebook
Behance

Interview with graphic designer Riccardo Sabatini

Hello my dear reader,
today it’s all about graphic designer Riccardo Sabatini.
I’m not going to say much more about his creations;
just click, read, see and listen (almost every design has a piece of music included)

SO PUT THOSE SPEAKERS ON MAX. AND CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE PROCESS OF CREATING!

Q – Tell us a little bit about yourself?
A – Hi, I’m from Italy, now I’m based in Florence but originally I come from a small town in the province, Pescia. My educational background is messy, I started to seriously study/work/apply into what I do right now, very late. At 26, more or less. A lot of professionals in my field at that age are already in the market and academically (or self)prepared since years. I’ve just taken a bit more time to decide what to do in my life (this involves a lot of different jobs and experiences, and the list is too long to write). About the interests, they are many. My work itself and the others work, book, comics, movies, music, go walking, travel, go to exhibitions, hiking, just slack off on the couch, cooking, getting fat & lazy etc.

Q – I see you are very into working with a pattern. How do you create them?
A – Patterns are schematic. If I have to work with on a design project that involves the use of surfaces (if it’s the back of a business card or a wall,…) the path is simple. Take an elements or more than one, combine them in the right way (ways, too) apply.


Q – What do you do when you have no inspiration at all, but you must finish a task?
A – Hard question. Inspiration is about start a work, not doing it. If it’s a personal work, I don’t start any if I don’t have in mind the concept to carry on. I don’t need to know how it is going to be at the end, the best things come out through “freestyle” processes during the making. But, however, everything starts with a concept. If you don’t have inspiration, probably you don’t have either the concept. And if it’s a job often it’s not you that gives a concept, but there is already a direction to follow. And it’s easier.

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Q – Why do you use music on every design you show on your website?
A – Music makes looking into images more enjoyable. And if you combine the right music with the right images is even better. You can create a mood. For the second question, usually I choose the soundtrack after the making. During it, I listen to music, but randomly. The choice of the song is quite annoying. You try track after track (even just 10 seconds) and when it arrives the right one, you hear it.


Q – Which of your works do you like the most? Can you tell about it?
A – I don’t have favourites, each new project is a different story. The making is often shown off in its presentation.

Q – Who are your idols in the world of graphic art? Who do you look up to?
A – I’ve discovered so many artists and professionals in this field and nearby from the past and the present that the range of people that could have influenced me to follow their examples is too large. Now my inspiration board it’s like a huge mosaic, it’s not the single piece but the composition of them all and the will by to take part of it. Second question, easy, I look to have a recognizable name.


Thank you Riccardo for this interview!

Want to see more of his creations:
Website: http://riccardosabatini.com
Behance: https://www.behance.net/riccardosabatini

Interview with various designer Aldous Massie

New week, new interview.
Hello, this week ‘s interview is with Aldous. His focus is on Illustration, fashion, drawing and graphic design.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION!! Aldous let us take a sneakpeak of his new big project. It’s such an honor!!
You will find the link to his new project in this interview.
But let’s start with a great other project of Aldous..


Rainbow Serpent

.. is a personal branding/illustration project. The exercise groups a series of illustrations  with the purpose of elegantly visualising myth. The Rainbow Serpent, as a logo, is based on an Aboriginal myth of the same name.
The circular blue 
guidelines are relationally based on the golden ratio/phi (φ).

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Q – Tell us a little bit about yourself?
A – I was born in Sydney, Australia – both my parents are from Jakarta, Indonesia but met here in Sydney. I’ve been here in Sydney pretty much my entire life. I started drawing at a young age – longer than I can remember. I only got into the ‘design’ side of things when I started studying it after high school.

I started a broad design course at university as soon as I finished school when I was seventeen. I obviously had very different perspectives as to what ‘design’ entailed at the time, but I think it’s safe to say that the work I produce now is heavily rooted in what you could call the fundamentals of ‘design theory’.

In general, I’m interested in exploring the links between art, design and commercial/non-commercial illustration. My professional interests tend to gravitate toward selfish/personal goals which change sporadically and dramatically. Today I’ve been sketching a lot because my long-term goal is to focus on drawing. Yesterday, my long-term goal was targeted at creating strong brands/identities. There was another day this week where I wanted to become a professional 3D animator, but that didn’t really work out (either).

Outside of work, my hobbies are pretty consistent. I’m really into skateboarding and chess, though I’m not very good at either.

The Labyrinth
The Labyrinth is an interpretation of the Classical Greek myth of Theseus, the Crete Labyrinth and its horned inhabitant.
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Detail – The Labyrinth


Q – I see that you use very feminine colors. (like the orange, pink, purple) Do you have a reason to use those specific colors?
A – The first commissioned illustration job I got was from Hermes, which is a fashion company. I think that this introduction into the fashion industry got me very interested in an elegant ‘feminine’ aesthetic.

It’s not just the colours that translate into the different projects: it’s the minimalist intention (that is; stripping away as much as possible for a concise message), and working towards an organic look: making it seem as if a stroke is placed ‘accidentally’ (naturally) and the finished product just appeared, almost out of luck.

I’m not trying to say that I’m doing this successfully. To be able to pull of a trick like that requires a lot of hard work and practise, and I feel like I’m constantly practising.

Chambord Girls
Liqueur company Chambord required fashion–style illustrations for various promotional endeavours. The illustrations were created in order to strengthen their brand’s association with fashion and luxury. The final artwork was shown in–situ in Cleo, Grazia and Harper’s Bazaar magazines.

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Q – If you design with music at the background, what’s your favorite musicstyle to create on?
A – Right now I’m listening to Mac Demarco.

Q – I love your illustrations. How much time do you spend on making them?
A – I think I spend a lot more time on things than what people may think, but I’ve also got really short-term memory when it comes to emotional attachment to projects. The longest I’ve spent on one project has probably been a few months, but that’s a really rare case that’s tied to other things such as client feedback.

When it comes to personal projects, I try to do everything in as quick a time frame as possible. That isn’t to say that I’m particularly focused at every moment, but I’ll sacrifice things (like sleep, social activities, sometimes health) in order to get the snail’s pace movement to a preferable position. The reason I do this is because I know that my interest in one particular project is always short-lived, so I absolutely have to get it finished before it becomes “work”. It’s the only way for me.

Narra
Identity for online jewellery store Narra.
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Q – Which of your works do you like the most? Can you tell something about it?
A – Right now, the best thing is BOREDOM. It’s an online publication that I’ve recently started with my girlfriend Ali Groves and a friend of ours, Emmie Rae. It’s a collection of projects from very separate fields that try and show the ‘other side’ of projects – not just behind the scenes type stuff, but things like research: how the process behind a graphics poster might compare to a research essay, for example.

The process behind BOREDOM is actually pretty backward. I was working on an unrelated poster for a friend of mine and at the time (a couple of weeks ago) I had a very short-lived goal of being an expert photographer, so I turned the project into a photography-based one.

Long story short: the photographs evolved into wire sculptures, then 3D renders, then multiple posters, and finally, a full-blown identity. I decided to start fresh on the original project, and do something else with the sculptures/renders/posters/identity. I wanted to make something that I could control the aesthetic of, while having like-minded people contribute their knowledge.

Ali and I were having dinner one night and were trying to think of the worse possible name for the brand: BOREDOM.

The site hasn’t officially launched yet. At the time of writing this, it has two posts, and some of the content right now might even be dummy content. But, what the hell: http://boredom-online.com

Q – Who are your idols in the world of art?
A – I’m a nerd; I’m into videogames and science fiction. My ‘idols’ are artists that have produced exceptional artwork for videogames and science fiction: Yoshitaka Amano, Yoji Shinkawa, Ralph McQuarrie, Jean Giraud, Kilian Eng. I’m also really into Lotta Nieminen, Jessica Walsh, David Downton, Escher, Yoco Nagamiya, Jonathan Zawada, and a billion others.

The Stables Cafe
An illustration for The Stables’ cafe.

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Thank you Aldous for sharing your work, for this interview and for your time!
I hope he inspired a lot of people just like he inspired me.

Want to see a lot more of Aldous’ work?
Check out his website:
http://aldousmassie.com

Or his project:
http://boredom-online.com

 

Estudio Yeyé

It’s been a while!

Too much work for school has holden me back to update my blog, but now I’m back for a couple of weeks!

So let’s start with a great design studio from Mexico called Estudio Yeyé. With a team of 8 persons they provide graphic design and illustration intended for multiple formats, plus three-dimensional solutions for interior and objects, as well for innovative solutions for branding and marketing.

Their goal? It’s simple. They want to provide their clients with relevant, innovative work, and high quality to help grow your business.

All this sounds like they make great design, so let’s see..

Illustation/branding – Polyester

The third album of the band Chihuahua, is an exploration into the psyche of its members, a tour Through his likes and those inner demons turned into fear.

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Editorial – Svbterra XVII

The number 17 of our editorial project dedicated to exploring related to our culture and tastes in Studio Yeye, an exercise that allows us to express all those things that worry us issues …

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Branding/Media – La Central

At the heart of the historic center of the city of Chihuahua, you can enjoy different flavors, including fresh bread this small little factory that is the Central, its name comes from its location and the fact that there were many business this name in the area previously, the graphic details are inspired by the industrial manufacture.

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Those where a few design works from Estudio Yeyé.
Want to see a lot more? Please visit their website:

Website: http://estudioyeye.com

Stay up to date with the sneakydesign facebookpage. 

 

Interview with graphic designer Arnus

Hello my dear readers,
it’s been a while, a lot has happened but here we are again.

Today I present you Arnus!
A creative man with a lot of humor and fantasy!
I’ve waited a long time to have his answers to my questions, but believe me, they are worth waiting for! Enjoy and let you inspire by this genius man, Arnus!

Q – Tell us a little about yourself.
A – Oh hello ! Sorry i’m late, I come from the garbage container. I’m arnus, I’m french, I am romantic, I love music and I do enchanting drawings. I live since three years in the south of France where people always want to go to the river,… I think that they become fishes when they grow old.

My parents gave me a good education. When I was 5 I saw Pope John Paul II his face on a bank-bill appear on the wall of my sisters bedroom. I studied multimedia and learned how to badly make websites and CD-ROMs in Saint-Dié des Vosges, incredible town, did you know they have a restaurant called the “Mac Mils”?

After that I
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So after that I decided to draw!

New Jazz festival 2013 - Affiche by Arnus

New Jazz festival 2013 – Affiche by Arnus

Q – Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
A – I build my illustrations like a hunter places his traps. Drawings are sometimes like cold vengeance; built slowly and perversely. My hands are guided by voices which are often oppressive and directive. If you could hear what they tell me I think you’ll understand me that they’re trying to drive me mad!!

Those voices come from my girlfriend’s mouth. But now it’s quiet, i’m single today. But what can I do with serenity and concentration?

Couple life and its misunderstandings and frustrations are so perfect for inspiration.

Misunderstandings and misinterpretations of all kinds are good too you know, for example, if you’re taking a walk in the forest and sunddenly you stop walking because you see a beautiful deer standing in front of you and as you quietly come nearer, you realise that the deer was only a bench…

My works are visual misinterpretations.

Venise by Arnus

Venise by Arnus

Q – I see you create posters for Igorrr and Venetian Snares: do you create the posters on the music they make to feel the music and bring it over in the poster?

A – In fact, the day I did the poster for them, I think there were public works outside, the noise was horrible! All the day the noise of trucks, cement mixer, pneumatic drills and men shouting too loud broke my head!
Fortunately, all this noise stopped when I ejected Igorrr’s CD.

But making a poster for Igorrr is easy because as a child I went to the bible study every thursday to talk about God, I think Igorrr also did this. And.. do you know Jo Akepsimas the religious bluesman ? He has very good hits, I think Igorrr takes his inspiration a lot from him, they exactly do the same music in another way.

I always listen to the music for which I make the poster. I found the track that inspires me the most and then i listen it in a loop all the time I draw.
For Igorrr this time I listened to “Pizza aux narines” a lot, and “Tout petit Moineau” of course.

Eaten by Arnus

Eaten by Arnus

Q – Are the illustrations self-created?

A – You mean if I use the work of other people and say it’s mine, like DJs do?
I like collages, but I’m not comfortable with the fact of using other people’s work or face, or hands, or teeth, or…

But yes, to make a drawing, I look at a lot of old photographs that I beat, break, smash and mix to make them show me the story that I want to tell. My illustrations are a mix of real facts, jokes, old pictures, family pets, personal stories and other references…

Sometimes a part of the drawing comes from different ‘real’ pictures, sometimes it’s only details, but it ALWAYS tells a (hidden) story.
But I don’t care if people don’t get it.
For example, a few days ago, a girl almost insulted me because she thought one of my drawing was dealing with seals massacre, when it was only showing a girl ridding an (badly drawn) otter!

The people of today are crazy! They have a so big need to hate that they see horror where there is only love.

Chatte by Arnus

Chatte by Arnus

Q – Which designers and creative minds were your biggest inspirations growing up?
A – Building your brain with 80’s television is not easy, between Carambar’s advertisement and Roland Topor’s Telechat, I’m still not sure to understand in which kind of world I live.

But I’m a big music fan, so a lot of them inspired me. When I was young, I bought cassettes only for the artwork of the cover and was often disappointed by the music itself.

Also horror movie posters designs marked me, I remember being intrigated by the “Bad Taste” vhs cover everytime I went to the videoclub or the ridiculous one called “Meurtres au crayon” showing a woman with a pencil in her nose but I never saw the movie.

If you prefer a list, I realy like Dürer, Pushead, Kurt Cobain’s painting for “Incesticide”, german expressionism movies, Gotainer, religious art, the Twilight Zone too.
I wish I could live in a Twilight Zone episode ; “A Stop at Willoughby” for example.

And I love the 60’s Brigitte Bardot, you know her song “On déménage” ?

Banzai by Arnus

Banzai by Arnus

Q – Who is your dream client?

A – It would have been Mike Patton ten years ago with Fantomas. Or Sleepytime Gorilla Museum but it’s too late too. It could be René Grolier, it’s a french accordion champion who sings a song about the “Coucougnettes” i think you can like. Johnny Hallyday only for the challenge (and the money).

But every band who makes good music and let me draw what I want is a dream client.
I’d like to make posters for movies or circuses too.

Tele Banane by Arnus

Tele Banane by Arnus

Q – Where do you see yourself in the future?

A – In a Berlingo I think (you know, it’s a Renault french car) even if in the future we don’t need roads.

Thank you so much for this awesome interview Arnus! 
Check out all his works !! 
Website: http://ohlalaa.free.fr
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnushorrib…
Behance: http://www.behance.net/arnus
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arnus/1729…
Blogspot: http://arnushorribilis.blogspot.com
Other: http://glaucom.free.fr

Stay up to date with the sneakydesign facebookpage. 

The influence of package

For a school assignment I made a research about how much influence a product package has on the Flemish consumers.

Colored toilet paper by Renova

Colored toilet paper by Renova

How much influence has product packaging on the Flemish consumer?

Shopping is for many people a daily thing to do. Some of us use a helpful shopping list to require to bring only the necessary. However, there are many products purchased which is not on the shopping list. Everyone knows the commercials from the detergent Dash. One shows a nice bright Dash box compare with the dull grey and colorless other brands. But do we choose  for the bright appearance? Are we influenced by the samples or do we opt for the visual?
Do we affect us by beautiful packaging, such as the expensive merchandise or choose the Flemish consumer for the cheap products with a lower flair factor? This is the one I wonder when I see the word ‘ packaging ‘. personally: I think it is useful to know how much influence packaging has on the purchases of the consumers.

Art director: Siok Yee Koh  Country: Malaysia

Art director: Siok Yee Koh Country: Malaysia

What is the primary purpose of packaging?

We know that the basic aim of packaging serves to protect the product against dust, moisture and especially bacteria. Secondly, they also ensure that there is no damage to the product during the transport and storing it. No one wants to take crumbled biscuits at home.

Thirdly, package contains a lot of information about the product. Here you will find the composition and origin of the product, expiry date, the ingredients, fats and more.

Panasonic Note - Designer: Scholz & Friends

Panasonic Note – Designer: Scholz & Friends

Image of packaging vs. a product 

A last important aim of the product packaging is to strengthen the image of a brand or a product. I’ll take a wine bottle as an example.
A special bottle of wine is poured in and a label with a known name, will look in the eyes of the consumers as a better wine than the wine in a regular bottle with a plain label. It also ensures that a good marketing interlink the product with the image.

In March last year, there was a reportage on TV that examined how knowledgeable the opinion of an expert is. Everyone could participate, an expert to a novice. Of course is an experiment no experiment without switching variables. So was the expensive Nuits St-Georges, which costs about $ 500, shed in a cheaper bottle, which is worth some $ 30 Chamirey and vice versa.
Although the wine expert, who has experience for many years, said that the cheap wine in the expensive bottle was the best wine. The novice, who had a 3 months wine tasting course, choose the expensive wine as the best wine, despite the $ 500 valuable wine was in a bottle fed up with a lesser-known name on the label.
It is clear that the wine expert is blinded by the wine label. He goes for the appearance; the good name and the well-known image of the wine.

In a survey that I took, one of my question was what they thought of the statement, ” I automatically link a nice/good-looking package to an expensive and good product”. 60% of those surveyed  agreed.  When I asked the 100 respondents  for a product packaging to describe that struck them last, they gave next to a description, also a brand as an example. It is already proven that the image of a brand depends greatly on the packaging. To mention some examples: The Frisk mints in the metal box, the perfume bottle of Nina West (the cap is a stiletto heel), the bright colors on the bags of Lays chips, Minute Maid fruit juice, or the figures that you can find on the Oasis fruit juice packaging, and so on. Of course these are previously luxury goods with a higher price. It are these things that are bought by adults, since they have a higher budget.

In addition to all these beautiful packaging you will find of course the sober packages of store-brand products. Usually the chain’s logo is on a colorless packaging. It isn’t attractive at all, no, but it is cheap though. One finds them colorless, boring, too simple and sober. But despite this boring packaging they are often purchased. About 90% of the students agree that, students that live on their own, despite their low budget also greatly attentive to the cheapness of products. It is clear that the packaging does not affect this rate of population. Yet, that they choose for the brands previously known, although this may be slightly more expensive. They sometimes choose  for certain products which they use when they are at home. What they already know for their entire lives, and they don’t change fast their choice. This shows that they, too, sometimes go for quality.

BEEloved honey - Designed by Tamara Mihajlovic

BEEloved honey – Designed by Tamara Mihajlovic

Color betrayal

Many studies have discussed the importance of packaging and color played a major role in this. Color is everywhere and is invariably a part of everyday life. It is present in everything we perceive and it has been proven that colors have a strong influence on our perception and our emotions. Be seen in the survey, it is clear that certain colours are immediately linked to a feeling, flavor or atmosphere. Let’s look at it from approaching; 30% of the respondents links the color blue with the word cold. While walking at the store, the most blue packaging you see is of frozen foods. What is striking is that the color blue appears on most frozen products. Is it to confirm the link between blue and cold? Probably, yes.

Milko- Designer: Alfonso Sotelo Nava

Milko- Designer: Alfonso Sotelo Nava

The red color is linked with a warm feeling, strawberry and a sweet-fruity taste. It has also been proven that this is the color that most attracts the consumer’s attention. When children see a candy colored red, they link it immediately with strawberry flavor. This result I became by a small test I perform. Every age group reacted amazingly the same. Everyone knows the typical square fruitellacandy. Here is the strawberry or raspberry taste in a red-coloured piece of paper, the Orange flavor in an orange piece of paper and the lemon flavor is hidden neatly in a yellow-coloured casing as last. To perform this test I have put all flavors in a non matching piece of paper. You saw at both, the children and adults, that they immediately took the flavor they like, by looking at the color of the piece of paper. One got confused when they noticed that it is not the flavor that they actually chose. Especially children looked on a puzzled way once again to the color of paper to look if they really took the right color/flavor.

Another research proves that the color of a product packaging is related to the amount of intensity of the taste of a food product. This proven them on to the green colored cans of 7-up much more yellow! Consumers found that the drink tasted much more to citrus, while there is nothing to the taste of the drink was added.

Waterbottle - designed by Martin Azua

Waterbottle – designed by Martin Azua

CUBEN Space / Lux Fructus: Fruit Wine Packaging Designer: Marcel Buerkle

CUBEN Space / Lux Fructus: Fruit Wine Packaging Designer: Marcel Buerkle

How has package has an influence on us? 

Another online survey shows that consumers associates a rough packaging with crispy biscuits . A smooth, creamy yogurt, on the other hand, is expected in a smooth packaging. Here, you can see that the customer has an unconscious link between product and packaging.

This all explains that the consumer make an association between the product and its packaging. The packaging must meet the same expectations of the customer. This can happen in several ways. On the one hand visual aspects highlighted. So a lot of effort are put into the design of the label. Bright, cheerful and colorful enclosures are no exception, but rather the norm. On the other hand, there are the structural features such as the shape and the material used. Finally, there is also the aural component that plays an important role in the consumer buying process.

colo[r]evolution Fabric Dye

colo[r]evolution Fabric Dye

Hatziyiannakis Dragee

Hatziyiannakis Dragee

Interview with: designer and art-director Julian Weidenthaler

UNI:VERSE 2010

UNI:VERSE 2010

Q – Hello Julian. Thank you so much to make time for this interview. Like all my other interviews, would you tell us a little about yourself?
A – Well, I am from Salzburg/Austria. I studied Jazz guitar at Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz for 3 years but switched to Time-based and Interactive Media at the Art University in Linz where I got my bachelor degree. Then continued with my master in Visual Communication at the Art University in Linz. My professional interests vary from classic print and editorial design to UX/UI design. I don’t do classic commercials (print or TV), my focus is more to the conceptual part of identities of companies and organizations.

I love doing visuals but I also make contemporary interactive art installations. I still play the guitar and I make some electronic music but that is just for fun and not really something I could make a living of. I also like to program web pages, music or visuals. I like the structure of programming which is a total contrast to my daily work as art director.

Q – Where do you get your inspiration? Which designer are you looking up to?
A – I have a couple of design blog feeds where I get updated with whats going on in the design business worldwide. I think it is really important to stay up-to-date. You don’t have to follow trends but at least you should know what’s going on right now.

Schinko Mailing

Schinko Mailing

Schinko Mailing

Q – What was your first project you worked on?
A – It was a CD cover for my band. I was still studying Jazz guitar and did the design just for fun.

Q – What project are you the most proud of?
A – I don’t have a favorite project. But there are some which kept in mind over the years. For example the International Academy Traunkirchen was the first project which got featured on Behance. Another project would be UNI:VERSE. It was the first project we got an international prize.

International Academy Traunkirchen

International Academy Traunkirchen

International Academy Traunkirchen

International Academy Traunkirchen

Q – So you are an art director. Is it a 9 to 5 job? Tell us a little about how an ordinary workday looks like.
A – I wake up around 8 am. Have breakfast with my girlfriend. After that checking my emails from the day before. At around 10 am I am heading to the office. Since it varies from project to project it also varies what I do next. It can be programming a website to working on a logo design, folders, flyers, etc. or discussing project details with my partner Letitia. It isn’t a 9 to 5 job at all. It is different every day.

Q – What is MOOI and how was it formed?
A – MOOI is a design collective. MOOI is Letitia Lehner and myself. It formed out of some projects we did together. We thought our workflow is so good together that we have to make a business together.
Go to the website of MOOI 

Harald Kimbaz

Harald Kimbaz

Q – Are you someone who always sees a mistake in a design? Someone who always wants to change something..?
A – As for my work – yes I am a perfectionist. I always triple check if there are spelling mistakes or any other thing which doesn’t work with the design.

Q – If we could let you do everything, who do you really want to work for?
A – I really don’t know. It must be a quite challenging project though 😉 I like the challenge.

Q – Where do you want to be in a couple of years as a designer/art director?
A – I want to grow with our collective MOOI. Get some more partners and some designers. But I don’t want to grow to big. 10-15 people would be a good size.

UNI:VERSE 2012

 

Be sure to check out his new website : http://www.julianweidenthaler.com
You can also follow him on behance:  http://www.behance.net/julianweidenthaler
Also, his collective MOOI has a website where you can look at their designs: www.mooi-design.com

I’m sure Julian Weidenthaler is a name you will hear more in the future of the graphic design. He and his collective MOOI have a experimental style.. They aren’t afraid to use color, a lot of color. I am a fan of their work!

 

xx,
Sneakydesign

 

All credit goes to Julian weidenthaler.

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