Beach Packaging Design Shines in Packaging Design Magazine Makeover Challenge

Packaging Design Magazine is holding a really neat contest - its sixth annual Makeover Challenge where four design teams are competing to redesign the packing of Casa Visco - a brand of gourmet all-natural spaghetti sauces, mustards and marinades.

Check out the August issue of Packaging Design magazine for the design submissions of all the contestants - the submissions are also available to view online.

After reading the August issue there is one design which I think clearly stands out - the submission from Beach Packaging Design in New York.  Beach is a joint venture between Randy Ludacer and Deborah Davis and their design is just perfect in my view for the brand.

Their design is simple and very clean but packed full of little touches which seal the deal.  Their overall design reminds me of some of the clean clear design work in the food sector we've seen out of Europe for a few years now.  Its reminiscent of something from Sainbury's of Innocent Juice or even the home organic brand of Safeway here in the US.   Clean and pure - with a lot of shelf appeal is how I'd describe their design.

The team from Beach jazzed up their submission with clever additions including a window design on the spoon so the consumer can see the sauce inside and visualize it on their own spoon at dinner - very cool.  They also incorporated a charming little enhanced design on the back using the UPC code.  Their overall packaging design is made complete by photography done by Davis - and included on the lower right hand side of their packaging design.

I could easily see this brand in a store like Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca or some charming grocery - let alone a normal more conventional grocery store.

The design from Queue Marketing Communications Group in Chicago is also appealing.  I think their submission is highly effective visually and elevates the feel of the brand significantly.  While I don't think using a Tetra-Pak is a bad idea - I am not sure how effective it would be to consumers - it would certainly stand out on the shelve however in a market dominated by glass or plastic consumer acceptance may be an issue.

I was not a fan of the designs submitted by Rex Design in Sao Paulo or Estudio Ray in Phoenix.   I felt both were too busy and were visually confusing.  The submission from Rex resembled a holiday theme and made me think the products were seasonal.  While the southwestern hints present in the Estudio entry and the complex container choices seemed to limit the reach of the product significantly.  The Estudio container choices also seemed over the top to me and the least sustainable of all the submissions.

The team from Beach - took a delicious brand and completely updated their packaging in a modern yet subtle way - never losing sight of what makes the brand great - their products.  Well done! 

Randy also writes box vox - a blog I've enjoyed for several years now - where he covers interesting often obscure packaging and design ideas.

More images of the design from Beach Packaging Design

 

Comments

[Contract Packaging]

I agree, I really like the simple, but clean packaging that was created by Beach. The focus was kept on the products, and that is what is the most important thing. good post. thanks.

[john T Barnes]

Now that the results are in and Beach Design did not place first, nor second. I'm wondering your opinion of the results?