Buckets & Spades - Men's Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Blog: packaging design

Showing posts with label packaging design. Show all posts

6 Feb 2018

Beer & Design | Branding Refresh for Mariner Brewing Company

There's a few things in life that I'd say I'm very passionate about, and presentation is one of them. How we decide which restaurant to spend our money in, how we approach editing photos (granted, not always my strong point), how we dress ourselves for a first-time meeting, or deciding which product to choose out of several that seem to offer the same thing – presentation likes to sway our decisions. It's a subject I love, and if it happens to involve another subject I'm as equally passion about – you guessed it... – then it's a win/win all around!

"Set no path. Never be lost"

Mariner Brewing Company is a small brewery + tap room spot in Coquitlam, Canada, just shy of 30 minutes drive from Vancouver. I don't know too much about their beers, but I do know that they recently gave Vancouver-based design agency, Glasfurd & Walker, the reins to create a whole new identity for them. The update includes a fresh take on the brand's logo, updated typeface, packaging design, personalised beer growlers, pump clips, glassware, staff uniforms and bespoke stationery – with inspiraption coming from sea exploration + NASA's Mariner Programe.

It's unlikely we'll ever see these beers pop up in our local supermarket, but it's definitely a name to note down if you're considering heading to that part of the world.

See more from this branding project here. Did you know I run an Instagram account dedicated to packaging?

9 Feb 2017

Best of Packaging | Biggans Bocklingpastej by Bedow, Stockholm

Sometimes I find it hard to get started with work in the mornings, even after a coffee.

That's where Pinterest comes into its element. I type in a few likely words, like 'killer' and 'packaging', and up comes a ton of inspirational ideas that get my brain going.

Okay, so a smoked herring fishpaste might not be at the top of everyone's shopping list, but this beautiful design by Bedow of Stockholm will certainly make Biggins Bocklingpastej an eye-catcher on the shelf.

I love the way Bedow have thought of the small details too, like how the packaging will look when the box is half full and the pictures of the sea floor that are revealed once the book is empty.

We're always looking for inspiration for our Best of Packaging Instagram account. Found any great examples? Sent them to us!

You can find Nik at - Twitter | Instagram | Newsletter

12 Jan 2017

Beer + Design | Shower Beer by Snask + Pangpang Brewery

Try to ignore for a minute that someone has created a beer that you can drink in the shower (who's in that much of a rush? Hoping this is tongue-in-cheek!) and just concentrate on the lovely branding that has been designed by Snask + Swedish brewer Pangpang Brewery. A subtle dusty pink cap sits on top of the 180mm (6oz) brown slimline glass bottle, with the bold serif font being screen-printed into the front

Shower Beer is actually drinkable too; a 10% sweet pale ale, right up my street. Now, I just need to hunt one down to "check in" on Untappd! The words "Chug while you scrub" come to mind...

See more from this project on Behance here.

25 Nov 2016

Escaping the City | Westons Cider, Herefordshire

London is a very cool place to live. There’s always something going on and - as someone famous once said - you really can’t get tired of it.

That said, it can seem a bit insular. Escaping the city, from time-to-time, just has to be done.

We get a fair amount of traveling in, to be honest. Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh, Nottingham, and soon Glasgow - the blog takes us to all the happening places. And now, you can add a cider mill in Herefordshire to that list.

Okay, it might lack a bit of that action we usually look for - coffee shops, decent stores, a gallery or two - but, Westons Cider (home of Stowford Press, Mortimer’s Orchard, Caple Road, and many more) still offered a lot to impress.

This is cider on a massive scale; yet, unbelievably, it still has that classic rural feel. Following the apples down from the ancient orchards, through the whole process, as they get turned to liquid, to the thousands of shiny casks, basking in the yard, metres from the fields, shire horses, and an old steam roller. Pretty much picture perfect England, really. Hopefully, we’ll be back for another dose next year.

Visit Westons Cider on YouTube to hear more about their ciders and see that steam roller in action.

18 Aug 2016

Best of Packaging | Noble Ray Brewing Co.

I think Mat knows more about packaging design than anyone else I know.

He's not that into the technical aspect of packaging - he probably could tell you what type of card a box is made from, but maybe not how many folds there are in a tetra pack - it's mainly the design, shape, colour and message he loves. And, as such, he always seems to have a new design to share - usually from some obscure brand, tucked away in a distant corner of the world.

So, it made total sense for him to start Best of Packaging - a new Instagram account, where he can share the best of what he finds with everyone. From coffee labels and craft beer cans, to olive oil bottles and chocolate wrappers.

To celebrate the launch of the account - although, it's been going for a little while now - I thought I'd pick one of my favourite designs so far: these beer cans from Noble Rey Brewing Co. over in Dallas, Texas. Because each beer can doesn't have much space to communicate the design, you need to stack two cans to appreciate the full design.

I hope you guys like them too! Head over to Best of Packaging on Instagram and tag you finds with #bestofpackaging. Cheers!

Images via Oh Beautiful Beer.

You can find Nik at - Twitter | Instagram | Newsletter

26 Jan 2016

Beer + Design | Omnipollo Illustrations

I've been meaning to share these beer labels by Omnipollo ever since I stumbled across them in a dusty old beer + wine store in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, last summer, but for some reason they just got pushed back. As I look over them again the same thoughts pass through my head as they did previously - "You don't see this every day...I wonder what they taste like?"

Each one of Omnipollo's beers takes on characteristics of its own; by using different breweries from across the world to create a unique taste. Each bottle takes on a colourful, pleasing and somewhat surreal theme. I can only imagine that if they taste as complex as they look then these are sure to be showstoppers. Each design has been created by the company's Swedish brewer + artist Karl Grandin. Now, let's hunt some down?

See more of Omnipollo's designs here. See more packaging post here.

30 Sept 2015

Beer + Design | Big Belly Band

"Life is too short to drink cheap beer"

Drinking beer often results in a belly, but drinking great beer always is money well spent. Following an inspired visit to the Guinness Storehouse (see our visit here), Dublin in 2011, Daniele Simonelli + friends set their minds to creating their own 100% handcrafted beer, resulting in this homebrewing + branding project; Big Belly Band.

I think they did a smashing job, and no doubt it will inspire many others to give it a shot themselves. It sure is sending beery ideals whizzing around my head, one for a future project...

Originally seen on Oh Beautiful Beer. See more packaging post here.