Voluspa & Package Design

On to another passion of mine - package design. I have posted about this a few times in the past, but not as often as I in fact observe it in the world and appreciate it. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you I buy things based on how they are packaged. One year my good friend bought me make-up by Fresh, not because I wear it (because I never wear make-up), but because she knew I would love the box and the design of the eye-shadow case.

And to show this is not a new passion. Two moments in my past that sum up my odd appreciation for package design:

At age 3 I demanded to keep the empty cereal boxes after we ate up our Frosted Flakes, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Musli. The rare Fruit Loops box or Apple Jacks box were my prize winners. This continued until I was 6. Yes...3 years. I collected multiples ;)

At age 15, after seeing my growing bottle collection (of mostly legal, under 21 beverages) and my walls plastered with every Absolute Vodka ad I could get my hands on - my parents bought me a bottle of Absolut Vodka for Christmas, with the condition that I 'pour it out after opening.' Needless to say what happened with that present...but the packaging was the real gift...with the box having a painting of an absolut bottle wrapped in paper that was so realistic it looked like a photo. For the life of me I could not scrounge up an image of the packaging online. I'll have to snap one when I get home...and post later.

Well, this was a very long intro to tee up the beautiful packaging of the Volupsa line of candles. They are a west coast company, based out of Lake Forest, California - but their designs call on an older era of 1920's glamor and mystique. I love the scent and love their designs. The big 3 wick candle tins are the best!

Another great example of innovation

Novelty is everything, so even something like this will run out if over used. But doing something new always deserves praise. Hence this post...

The biggest challenge I always see is scalability of an approach like this - as the cost that goes into creating something outside of the norm and securing the inventory that allows for invocation - is always much higher. But in exchange for an attention getting ad that makes a brand look innovative and trend setting - I would say it's worth it...

Obscure Observation

Angles in the city...

Online Advertising Observation

Okay, so I've been avoiding this for a while as I don't want to be posting about social media all the time on my blog, but the truth is, I live, eat and breathe this stuff working these past 3 years for a (then start-up) company as it helped define how we speak about this space and the opportunities that it provides. So, I have decided to share a few of my thoughts/observations every now and then - since I certainly have seen enough things work and not work. I don't consider myself an expert by any means - but some of these things are just common sense.

So today's observation is explained below...

When it comes to the display banner - this medium is certainly not dead - it just has a lot more potential than how people are using it today, especially in social media. Brand presence is key, so the placement itself is valuable, ensuring you vet that placement as a valuable resource to an audience. The key is to make the ad useful to the audience as well. People reading blogs are looking for information and are experts at consuming content. Give them more content to consume! But tie it back to your brand.

A start in the right direction I think is this approach by PopURL and Intel. See the ad at the top of this TechCrunch post below:



This ad takes you to the location below - a new branded location where readers can consume more and more information - a natural behavior since that is what they are doing online to begin with. Meanwhile, the location is branded, the reader notices how well Intel and PopURL presents information, enjoys the sleek design of the site and now associate quality with the brand. Pretty simple.

Obscure Observation: via the boyfriend

Like my last post on the tulips - today my boyfriend sent me a picture of the (insert plant name here that i can't remember or pronounce).

Our place is finally starting to come together - and plants always make it feel like home...

Oh, and those awesome cubist wall decorations in the background were a random find at EQ3 a few weeks ago. Very fun wall element...

CEO of WPP

I don't think of myself as someone with an ego - but sharing a morning observation...

Seeing this image of Sir Martin Sorrell - CEO of WPP - I thought to myself that it would be pretty cool to be in a role where depictions of you as ruler of the world simply look appropriate.

And - of course - I just really appreciated the lighting and symmetry in this photograph. I bet his arms were tired...

Prop 8 Efforts - Comedians Join Forces

Humor is always a great way to get a message across. This star studded comedian cast pulled off a pretty funny skit acknowledging the roller coaster of emotion us San Francisco locals felt with the hope and unity brought by the election of Obama - and then the passing of Prop 8, which seemed to go against everything we believe in as a culture here. To be honest, I think a lot of people were in a state of shock when if first passed - thinking that something like that would never happen in our city/state.

I just spent about 15 minutes trying to write out my stance on this whole situation - but instead of doing that I'll sum it up by saying - no matter what side you sit on - I don't think this is something that should have been placed in the hands of voters to decide definitively one way or the other. Feels much too personal for that - especially at this point in our culture where so many people are now affected by the outcome.

With that said - please take a moment to laugh at this collaboration. Gotta love a little levity...

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Another acknowledgement of Twitter's error pages

It's amazing what a pretty image can do to distract you from the fact you have encountered an error. I think every company should consider this strategy...

Only because I love Apple...

and the unfiltered genius of the Simpsons creators...



via twitter @crossthebreeze via No Desktop Hero