Wolfy's Porridge Pots

Happy Friday!  How bright and adorable are these Wolfy's Porridge Pots from Hills Design?

via The Dieline

I like how colorful and clean the packaging is.  The paw prints, plus the handwritten type make for a friendly brand presence.

The identity we created sets out to be compelling and playful, while always allowing for engagement with a broad consumer base. The paw prints that interlink with the type subtly suggest a character behind the identity and also allow the symbol of the paw to become synonymous with the brand. Distinctive colours and quirky typography help distinguish the varying flavours.

Agreed.  Plus, who doesn't love porridge?  I can't help but say the word with a British accent.

Cheers!

Originally seen at The Dieline.

Elegant Dirt

I love when designers create packaging that shows exactly what the product is meant for.  So I was especially happy when I came upon this fantastic and smart packaging on Lovely Package.  

via Lovely Package

The original post is a bit dated, and the magic Google turned up nada, so I don't know if there's actually a company making this or it was a student design.  But if someone did make these, I'd buy them.  It's so elegantly done that it elevates dirt, and how many products can really say that?

Poor Toothpaste!

I don't know.  Maybe it's just me.

via Lovely Package

But this toothpaste packaging is less reminiscent of toothpaste and more of... yeah.  I mean, who really squeezes out that much toothpaste?  Hello, wasteful!

I just don't think this design from Eduardo del Fraile for Interapothek win for me.  Even though the typeface is very snappy, and I like bright colors.  If you look at his other designs, they're all modern, clean, and pretty smart.

But this?  Not helping.

via Lovely Package

I just can't, y'all.  I don't want to put this in my mouth.

Student Work: Grain Reusable Disposable Camera

This student work from Jongwon Lee is fantastic.  A reusable disposable camera?  It smudges the boundaries between consumable and unexpendable products.  Cameras have long been either serious purchases, or easily disposable, and there's not been a median product to blend the aims of those two categories.

Originally seen via Lovely Package

This product would be an ideal match for going on vacation or other adventure where it might get wet or stolen, or misplaced.  You don't have to fret about either losing a valuable asset, or contributing to our landfills. 

Originally seen via Lovely Package

Old school is good school. ‘grain’ is a reusable-disposable film camera and film brand. The dots on the film package represent whether it is color or B&W and the size varies according to the film ISO.

Originally seen via Lovely Package

I really wish someone would make this.  The design of it is lovely and accessible too.  Kudos.

A Love Letter to Myself

Are you ready for this?  I know I am.  I’ve been sitting on these images, giddy with excitement, for a couple days.  I wanted to wait to post them until Valentine’s Day.  Traditionally a day where we celebrate our love for other people, I’m using today’s themes of appreciation, love, and care towards someone I usually overlook: myself.

I know it’s a little “rah rah ME!”, but like a lot of ladies, my creativity and thoughtfulness is usually directed outwards.  This year, I made my husband a card and a mix tape and we’re going out to dinner, AND he gets a print of one of the following photos.  Also, there’s an assortment of valentines going out to friends and family today.  But this shoot?   It’s a valentine to me.

The goal behind this goal was to let me feel comfortable in my own skin, after a couple of body changes like roller derby, CrossFit, and a tattoo.  With the help of Jora, Juan, and Sandra, I got there.




Seeing my transformation to pin-up girl stopped the train tracks of my obsession with perfection, and let me to see myself in the cheeky, cheerful, gorgeous light that’s behind pin-up style.  With pin-up, there’s a perfect balance of glamour and humor.  Much like burlesque, it’s a female-driven medium that allows the artist to feel both elegant and sexy at the same time.



Once I got into hair, makeup, and wardrobe, I felt transformed.  Juan and Sandra are super collaborative, and it was so much fun bouncing ideas and poses around all afternoon.  I got to play.  And that’s rare, and treasured.



Best of all, I felt totally comfortable during the lingerie shots.  Those were kind of a surprise.  I hadn’t anticipated shooting in lingerie, but everyone along the way was encouraging it, and it felt like an organic progression of this idea.  And it’s kind of awesome that the set I picked is in red, given the holiday.  I look classic in these shots: glamorous, beautiful, composed.  I’m not used to that, and I love it.

These are the three looks we did, but there are several more photos in different poses.  I already have my eye on a couple I’d like to order past this set.

Thank you, so very much, Go Mighty and Olay.  You’ve made me so happy to be me. 

This post originally appeared on Go Mighty.

Pixellated Coke

Coca-Cola can design based on Space Invaders.  What?  I know!

via Erin McGuire

 
This made the rounds last year, but I never followed up on it.  It's student work from Erin L. M. McGuire, whose tumblr I am now obsessed with.

via Erin McGuire

 Erin says about her work:

"‘Space Invaders’ VS ‘Space Invader’… The first is a video game made in Japan that became extremely popular in the 80’s. The second is the code name for a 21st century urban pixel artist from Paris who pastes up Space Invaders inspired art on streets all around the world. Space Invader the artist is famous among urban youth and creative people around the world.

Similar to Space Invaders art, these pixel creatures are invading the human world. They have taken over the walls of Paris, Amsterdam, New York, LA, and now they are targeting Coca-Cola cans across the world, turning everything in their path to pixels."

via Erin McGuire

Love it.  I hope Coke actually does collaborate with more artists to make cheeky statements like this.  It brings a youth and freshness, while still maintaining the brand's icon status.

Originally seen at The Dieline.

Behind the Scenes

This past weekend was my shoot, and I have to say right off the bat that it was so. much. fun!  Fun like you wouldn’t believe.  There are so few times I feel like I get to just play – play in a silly, non-self-conscious, my-laugh-isn’t-actually-embarrassing way.

Juan of JAM Photos and Sandra of Designs by Sandra were so kind and funny and supportive.  They really went a long way to make me comfortable, and work through exactly how we wanted the shoot to go.  Total professionals, both of them, and I highly recommend you seek them out for pin-up photos if you live in the bay area.

I’ve seen the preview of the shots and I’m really excited to share them with you, but they’re in post-production with Juan for the next couple of days.  In the meantime, here are some behind the scenes shots of me getting dolled up before heading out in front of the camera.

 Hoping to have my shots in time for Valentine’s Day!

All photos courtesy and copyright of JAM Photos.

This post originally appeared on Go Mighty.

Cat-Lady Preserves

Cat-Lady Preserves is a great example of packing for a small business.  Sumayya Alsenan has kept it simple and rustic, which is the right choice for an artisanal producer.

via Lovely Package

She says of her design:

The logo was set in the font Lekton. The color palette included black and white, and a accent color associated with each product. The labels were printed on white matte labels, the blanks were filled out by hand, and then the center image was rubber stamped. The jar caps were covered in post office brown paper, and then embossed with a personal embosser. Then was tied with black & white butcher thread.The products then were placed in hand-stamped muslin bags.

via Lovely Package

via Lovely Package

I love all the personal touches and differentiation between each product, even within each product set, as referenced by the different toppers above.  I don't know how you'd manage this for large-scale production, but with the return to heirloom, small-scale production, this is a great fit.

via Lovely Package

 Cat-Lady Preserves is still working on their website, but if you're around Brooklyn, check out local food festivals for their products.

Originally seen at Lovely Package.

Street Art and Louis Vuitton

As a populism person and a blogger, I'm a big proponent of all things street: street food, street fashion, and street art.  So when I heard from POPSOP that Louis Vuitton was pairing with three street artists for new scarf designs, I had to see what was up.

The street art creatives have re-imagined the regular giant silk scarf to give it a pinch of fresh unconventional energy, which is usually associated with urban art. The women wardrobe piece goes in three different styles by Retna, Os Gemeos and Aiko (“love” in Japanese) with prints, which suit any look and fit any occasion.

Photo: Retna x Louis Vuitton scarf

 The Retna scarf has watercolor and hieroglyph influences to the LV classic imagery&#151a bold and different take on the classic design. I like how the texture is soft, but the color palette and broad strokes make it strong.

Photo: Aiko x Louis Vuitton scarf

Aiko used many influences, past and present, in the making of the design. The use of the logo in the background image, married with eastern and western styles is really interesting. And I think this presents as the most street-style classic, with bold colors and typography that is closer to a traditional tag than the other example.

These are my favorites of the three, but you can see the last one here: Os Gemeos LV scarf.

I hope we see more of these collaborations.  It's a very fresh approach.

Day of the Betties

This past weekend, my friend Jora and I met up in San Francisco for some quality shopping.  I’d been nervous about posing , and I was looking for pin-up style clothes I’d be confident in.

The biggest reason I’m taking a leap and doing this shoot is to be comfortable in my own skin.  One way I’ve tried to reach that idea was to get tattooed last year.  So, I was looking for clothes that would be flattering to my short, curvy frame, plus highlight my ink.  Jora and I went to Bettie Page on Haight Street to check out their selection of pin-up clothes (a style they specialize in) and see if anything would fit our criteria.

The final outfits are a surprise, but here’s me modeling one dress we rejected:

We found 2 dresses I really liked, and I took them in for alterations this week to get that perfect fit.  After this trip, I was feeling inspired; after all, it hadn’t taken that many tries to find some clothes I felt great in.  So I let Jora talk me into going down the street to Dollhouse Bettie, a vintage-inspired lingerie store.  Forever after, I’m going to refer to this adventure as “Day of the Betties.”

Even though I had been a bit anti-lingerie, I was feeling confident, so I tried on some things and fell in love with one outfit.  So, now there will be 3 looks, and one of them will be in vintage-inspired lingerie.  And to my surprise, I’m feeling pretty good about that. 

Shoot is on Sunday.  Keep your fingers crossed and your stockings gartered for me!

This post originally appeared on Go Mighty.