Dedicated to inspiring designers, inventors & the creative spirit in all of us.

Yet again, another ingenious student-designed package from UQAM. Readers may have visited their design site from our previous post. If you didn’t check them out then, check them out now.

For those of you who don’t know what an LP sounds like, check this out. This cleverly designed vinyl record was packaged in its own record player. Pop out the record, unfold it, place the pin on the record and spin it to hear it. Ahh, so simple, so unique.

I recently took a look at all the different ways I can buy Coca-Cola. I was surprised to find that it comes in 3 liters, 2 liters, and twin pack 1 liters. 24, 20 and 16 ounce bottles. 12 packs, 20 pack cases and 24 can cubes. 8 ounce cans and 12 ounce cans. Plastic, aluminum and glass containers. I can even get a fountain drink filled up to 64 ounces.

Packaging has been approached from every angle and the branding has blended into every medium possible. Coke has done wonders, taking their product to consumers by packaging it in every size and variation conceivable. So which package do you pick?

This set of images shows an exercise in packaging by Sylvain Allard, teacher at UQAM School of Design.

Each one uses only a single piece of plain white paper, with no constraints of transportation or marketing of the 2D to 3D studies. I thought it was a clever approach to training students on limitations in the world of advertising; though many of the designs are not feasible, the students gained a knowledge of volume and practice at thinking fast on their feet.

Every so often I find a really great website and have to do some catching up to get me up to speed with its past posts. PackagingUQAM is one of those sites. So here is a crash course in some of their best content to date. 

(Just a warning for you non-French readers, be prepared to activate Google Translate.)

Have your cake and eat it too! The contents are chocolate, the box is chocolate, everything is chocolate. This chocolate box is an edible way to creatively store your favorite chocolate treats, and it is way more delicious than any other box of chocolates out there.

Sampling wine has never been easier. Why buy an entire bottle when you only want to taste a particular vintage of wine? With this cleverly designed package of trial-size wine bottles, you can sample a wide variety of wines and not spend a fortune doing so.  

After 42 years of using the famous ketchup packet worldwide, Heinz Ketchup has turned a corner. The condiment giant has re-designed what was once seen as a type form, the ketchup packet, by condensing the contents of 3 ketchup packets into one Dip & Squeeze. 

Not to say the ketchup packet is gone forever, but the next time I get food to go, I an expecting to get one of these new ketchup containers. Either rip off the top and squeeze out the ketchup the traditional way, or peel away the thin plastic membrane and dip your food into the wide mouth opening — neat, simple… simply great!

No, this is not some fine liquor or celebrity cologne. This bottle is the means of delivering a homemade maple syrup from a Virginia farm to consumers everywhere with taste. The thick glass bottle, natural brown color and official seal (if I’ve ever seen one) make this a great example of simple product package design. Back Creek Farms did a good job in designing this maple leaf styled syrup bottle for lovers of breakfast everywhere.

Geometric package designs for snacks are coming from all directions. Doritos has had a conceptual design overhaul, making a play on its famous triangular snack shape. 

Impact extrusion is used to create this new Coke can redesign. Looks cool, I just hope it feels cool and can match the structural integrity of the current can.