Design That Works: JJAAKK Design Etc

We came across the website for JJAAKK Design Etc and fell in love with the warm color palette. Here are the reasons why this design works:

• Very clean, minimalist design that makes it easy to find the information you are looking for.
• Large panel display in the center to highlight recent work.
• Completely warm color palette but good contrast between dark and light colors
• Site is very well organized and not overbearing with information

Design That Works: Bohemia

Bohemia is a UK based boutique dedicated to discovering beautiful, unique & unusual products and bringing these items to a wider audience. They recently had their website redesigned and it looks fabulous! They also have a blog, Bohemia Life, which details and follows various creative trends in fashion and design. We stumbled upon their website and fell in love.

Here Are The Reasons Why This Design Works:

• Complimentary Colors: Orange and blue are complimentary colors on the color wheel, which according to theory, they always look good together. Bohemia has chosen a very cool, light blue and paired it with a bold orange. The colors truly do compliment each other. And the cooler blue also has an icy appeal to it.
• Easy to Navigate: The main banner with the pictures fading in and out calls your attention to special products. That’s sure to attract attention. But also, check out the navigation to the upper right above the banner. Super easy to scroll over and the drop down menus really give you the option to be super selective in what you are looking for.
• Little Elements Makes It Fun: We creatives like to add little complimentary elements that make the design flow better, all while being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Note the fading paisley print in the back, and the light stitching on the top and bottom edges of the blue box that lays upon the fading images in the main banner. Brilliant!

Design That Works: Julian Restaurant

Fabulous packaging and design identity by Jordan Gray Creative for Julian Restaurant.

Why This Design Works:
This is our expert analysis for this design.

• We love that the “I” in JULIAN is really a balancing act by a spoon. It’s fun, playful and different. Not to mention the simple style of the design elements (spoon, bowl, plate/saucer) can easily be carried out into additional elements for the brand (see the picture above with the take out bag featuring kitchen utensils, and see the second to last image below featuring the wine bottle). The designs are simple but effective, making it extremely easy to come up with additional elements along the line to compliment the brand.
• A very simple font has been incorporated into their identity. This works because you can then use that font repetitively throughout other printed and web materials to maintain a level of consistency. Not to mention you can still jazz things up a bit while operating within the font by adding color and variation of text size to enhance various elements of text.
• The swirls from that cup in the logo can easily become a design element for other pieces. As you can see in the last picture below, they suddenly become a design element as they are debossed and running up the side of the business card. All of the elements and the color scheme go very well together.

Design That Works: Sweet

Sweet
Designing for candy is so much fun! In fact, the sweet color palette (of chocolate brown mixed with bold colors such as turquoise, pinks, and blues for example) was a very popular trend in 2009. We also expect it to continue to be in the spotlight for 2010. Afterall, we are convinced that you cannot go wrong with dark chocolate brown. This “Sweet” packaging was designed by HartungKemp.

Why This Design Works:
This is our expert analysis for this design.

• The color palette for this package is eye catching. You instantly know that there are chocolates or some kind of decedent dessert inside. Pastels often trigger the thought of icing (like on a cake or cookie), light in color, smooth and sometimes fluffy. The bold coral (orange-like) color warms up the palette and adds a extra punch. The dark brown color automatically triggers an association to food, sweets, dark chocolate. Since this design is minimal, you have to rely very heavily on color to get your point across.
• The design itself is simple, which is very effective because you don’t want to overpower the very detailed sweets inside. You want to compliment them with solid colors and very basic packaging.
• There is a lot of emphasis on circles in this design. The stickers have circles in different colors (very smart to have a variety, it makes you want to look at all of them). The coral colored tissue paper features a circular pattern as well. This more than flatters the goodies that are contained in the box. Yes, if this is a bakery, you can expect a bulk of their sweets to be round (cakes, cookies, etc). What a perfect way to tie placing a round item into a square box.

Design That Works: Trader Joe’s

You can’t help it when you fall in love. And what better to fall in love with than delicious dark chocolate? Great design is all around you, all you have to do is open your eyes and receive it. We found this colorful, well-packaged chocolate bar while strolling down the isles of our local Trader Joe’s market. In fact, upon striking up a conversation with the cashier, she agreed that the only reason she recently picked up this chocolate bar was because it’s packaging made it stand out on the shelf.

Why this design works: There are several reasons why this design is more than just eye catching. Here’s our expert analysis on why this design works.

• On a shelf of ordinary packaged chocolate bars (many of them were very plain, only writing, maybe 2-3 colors), this design instantly distinguishes itself to catch your attention.
• The design is bold and fun, with a font that seems drawn or handwritten, this package has a personal touch.
• Because each side of the package is different, you instantly want to pick it up and flip it around to see all of the sides. Once you have had it in your hands for that long, there is a higher probability that you will purchase this product.
• The colors are very warm and inviting. In fact, in both 2009 and also in the color forecast for 2010, dark chocolate brown is a very trendy color, especially when paired with a lighter color of any kind. In this case, this item has an advantage; the product is dark chocolate, making it easily justifiable to use dark chocolate brown in the packaging.
• Since this item is unique, in that it isn’t one you would see as common as Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar, it needs to be different, to break the mold, and to draw you in. The package design for this chocolate bar does just that.

Design That Works: Leap Organics

This design was recently featured in The Dieline, a spectacular packaging design blog.

Leif Steiner, Creative Director and Founder of Boulder Colorado based Moxie Sozo, sends in his latest project to The Dieline. They have just finished designing a soap line for a new Boston based company called Leap Organics, and over the next year, will be introducing an entire line of products for the brand. Illustrations by Charles Bloom.

Why this design works: There are several reasons why this design is more than just eye catching. Here’s our expert analysis on why this design works.

• When placed on a shelf with other organic soaps, which one grabs hold of your attention and literally says “look at me!” This package design is so intriguing and detailed that a potential customer is instantly drawn to it just to read more about what the product is and what its made from. The ingredients and other important information is woven into the design, which brings the customer in more.
• Each type of soap is featured in a different package, initiating a “collect them all” appeal and making the customer more inclined to at the very least view the other soaps that this company offers.
• Leap Organics is a company that is organic. The organic market has a very strong design style. You either see very simple, or very textured and detailed, or a combination of both. Organic companies have the opportunity to really utilize elements from nature to sell their products. As you can see, the packaging design for Leap Organics soap is very detail oriented, featuring animals and plants from nature.
• The colors featured in the designs are bright and have a natural appeal to them, further exuding an organic feel.
• This package design, because it contains so many elements and is so well put together, exudes a high level of quality.
  

In terms of packaging design, you want a look and feel that is different, unique, clever, and will separate you from your competition. Next time you are in a grocery store, stroll down the isles and really look at the packaging. Which items stick out to you and why?