Tactile Advertising

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you liked the last post about Jameson and font choices. Today we're talking about Tactile Advertising.
     

Absolut Vodka
   This is a technique that requires the customer to pick up the product or look so engaging that the customer is drawn to touching. What better example of something I want to pick up than the limited edition of Absolut Vodka Rock. This was  the start of a campaign to make consumers feel like rockstars when they partook in Absolut Vodka Rock with the slogan being, "in an Absolut world you ROCK!" This campaign featured a leather studded case that wrapped around the bottle; very "touchable" although a bit gimmicky.

1000 Acres Vodka
   This is a product designed by the Arnell Group, I can only assume that these are prototypes since the company 1000 Acres Vodka doesn't exist. I find these bottle so beautiful that I have to include them.

   Appealing to a person's sense of touch doesn't mean that you have to have a heavily textured surface. These bottles have a smooth glassy texture that just begs to be touched. The silky texture of the bottle enhances the viewers perception of the crystal clear vodka. Clear bottle and limited label design is something that I talked about in Multi-sensory Appeal: Sight Part 1. The designers came up with beautiful bottle shapes and an ingenious placement with the cork. The one on the right is so clear that it's almost unnoticeable, all clean right angles except for the top which is slightly curved. The curve acts as a wave with the cork floating upon it. The one on the left has an interesting raised bottom which is visually appealing. I give the bottle on the right two thumbs way, way up and extremely "touchable."                                                                       

  

 Das Korn
    Das Korn is a rebranding of what was a "cheap" German grain liquor and has now become a European sensation. Popular in clubs all over Germany now for the product's superb packaging. Das Korn uses a bottle shape that is reminiscent of perfume bottles, without the spritzer, and features a metal screw cork. What's beautiful about this design is the harmony between the hard geometric font and the organic line-drawn grains behind it. The almost perfect square shape is ideal for fitting in the palm of your hand and doesn't that just make you itch to try out? To test out it's weight and to see if the line art is raised or flat. Since it's only sold in Germany and Europe I have been unable to personally inspect the bottle but I would have to touch!

Paradox Absinthe 

   Paradox is another concept design from the people at Product Ventures who brought change to products like Summer's Eve, International Delight, and Dr. Scholl's. This bottle is drop dead gorgeous! The bottle's color is a slightly tinted yellow that enhances the color of the Absinthe. The columns that run down the sides hint at Art Deco architecture as well as the amazing logo. The complex lines and curves are supposed to mimic a labyrinth or maze, and boy do they give something for the eyes as well as hands. I give this design "ring status" because all I want to do is hold it and stroke it and call it my precious! (Lord of the Rings humor) 

Thanks for the continued readership! Follow me on twitter: @AlyssaGourd or pinterest: nerdyowl. Let me hear from you! I know you're out there :) Have a great, safe, and responsible weekend. Go forth designers and create.

Alyssa is AFK(Away From Keyboard)

Jameson's Irish Whiskey

Jameson Irish Whiskey

   I have to do a write up about Jameson's since it's my favorite! A triple distilled whiskey from the beautiful Emerald Isle. Now I admit I am a tiny bit biased when it comes to a anything Irish whether it's one side of my family tree or this delicious whiskey.
   Now let's get to the main dish, the meat and potatoes, the design. We have a beautiful green glass bottle with a classic shape (below). The label is a creamy yellow like that of aged paper and features centered information. The Jameson font is trademarked and was designed for the company by Robert Stradling. This label uses a combination of fonts ranging from serif to sans serif, a font script to a handwritten signature, and varying levels of thicknesses. In good design you can

use multiple fonts but there is a caveat. WARNING! When combining fonts there should be no more than three different fonts. There are ways to use more than three fonts and make them work but the more you add the harder it can be to use them effectively. Understand that when I say three fonts, it means that you can use all the variants of the font. So for example in Times New Roman, you can use bold, italic, bold italic, regular, and that would only count for one font.

   The logo is the Jameson family crest: an x, two anchors, a star, and a ship on a field of red. This is a great idea for a logo although it doesn’t leave much room for improvement. They use a gradient in the x that I find unnecessary but it works better than the Bacardi logo from 2002 (from my last post). With the Bacardi logo, the circle was lost in the gradient, but with Jameson's the x is contained within a thin black line. Below the logo is the family's motto, Sine Metu, which is without fear. This motto is placed on a gold banner with a heavy gradient which is not used well. The gradient is too drastic, too dark on the edges, and too light in the middle. The motto gets lost in the shadows and the banner is almost lost in the highlight. 

   Overall Jameson's Irish Whiskey is a visual as well as delectable delight. While Jameson's is not a top shelf spirit, they do have a beautiful bottle design, and a wonderful product. Jameson's uses three fonts and their variations, they have a defined logo, and a classic bottle shape. They've earned very good marks in my book and it's not just because a Jameson and Coke is my favorite drink. 

   Thanks for reading this week! Make sure to check in next week, leave your comments, and create something!

Multi-sensory Appeal Sight part 2

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Whether you’re celebrating with a special someone or treating yourself to something special make sure that you behave responsibly! For those of you who are of legal age here are some Valentine drinks to try out.

Ladies here are some Low-Calorie drink ideas: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-drinks/16-low-cal-love-potions-valentines-day

Men you know what you like and most of you don't mind how many calories are in your drink so enjoy what you like or try something new.

So here are my four "must haves" when it comes to great logos designs.

1. BOLD- You want to have a logo what will stand out in a crowd, something that is unique, and will make people stop in their tracks and stare.

2. VERSATILE- The logo has to look good when at different sizes, like a billboard or a business card, it has to be able to inform at all sizes. It helps to make sure that your logo looks good in black and white since logos that do are generally a lot stronger and are able to work in a variety of areas. Also make sure that it works on different backgrounds or surfaces like promotional items i.e. t-shirts, hat, mugs, and key chains.

3. SIMPLE- The logo needs to effectively communicate the company's message to its customers. People don't like to take time to decode complicated logos, they want clear, and to the point information.

4. NO/LITTLE GRADIENT- This is a rule that was made to be broken. There are some great examples of logos that use gradients well, but there are a lot of instances where they are not used correctly. A great logo needs to be able to function without the aid of gimmickry, gradients add depth to the logo but a lot of great designers believe that gradients are just plain lazy.

Here we have NADARED Vodka and CIROC Vodka, both use gradients but which one uses it more effectively?

Let me say this, NADARED's name is bold and dramatic, it make a statement, and is reminiscent of an era of communism. The gradient star detracts from the impact of the font choice and the style that they are trying to portray.

Now lets get to the fun part!

Bacardi 

   Here we have Bacardi Rum and their iconic bat. The bat has been a part of the Bacardi brand since the very beginning. Facundo Bacardí Massó expanded his business to a Santiago de Cuba distillery, and in the rafters there lived a family of fruit bats. The free-tailed bat that Bacardi uses is the same kind of bat that aids sugar cane growers by eating the bugs that destroy their crops. Since the bat protects the sugar cane, which is important to Bacardi's process, they even placed the bat as the face of their brand; making it the guardian of their product.
   In 1890 the logo was black and red with a thick lined bat, from a distance not very noticeable, and nothing special to associate quality with the Bacardi name. Then the logo changed into a very complex drawing that added yellow-brown to the color mix. This logo also doesn't read well from a distance which is very important in making a killer logo. The logo introduced in 2002 has a gradient, which doesn't work in this case, the shape of the circle gets lost on the outside edge. Over time Bacardi has gotten closer and closer to the amazing logo that they have today. The bat is simple, clear, bold and cleanly accented by the yellow lines.

Cîroc
"We like ciroc
We love patrone
We came to party rock
Everybody it's on"
Shots by LMFAO

   Ciroc is an interesting vodka to say the least, they spread shock waves with their cold pressed French grape process instead of using grains or wheats to make their vodka like everyone else. 
   Ciroc uses a symbol and font combination for their logo that incorporates a perfect circle and the "Ciroc" font. This fits two of my rules: be bold and be simple, it definitely stands out on a shelf, a colored circle is pretty simple, and it looks like a button. Who can resist pushing a button? But it doesn't quite fit the bill for versatile, it has to be combined with the Ciroc name to be recognizable, without the name all they have is a circle. And there are lots of logos out there that use circles.
   Here is an instance where I am going to break out of the design world that this blog is all about and talk about flavor. It goes without saying that you have to have a product that tastes good. Ciroc has met with mixed reviews and since i've never been able to afford it I have to refer to consumer comments. What I have been able to gather is that Ciroc uses a Brand Ambassador, Sean Diddy Combs, to help sell their brand. This is a risky move in the world of advertising, famous people may have a huge fan base that will try to emulate them, but fame has its ups and downs. And that is not something you want as the base for your whole marketing strategy.   

Patrón
   Patrón is a tequila that has a truly beautiful package, from the bee to the bottle, this is a work of art. The inspiration for the logo comes from the raw materials used to make the tequila. Patrón is made from 100% Weaber Blue Agave which is pollinated by bees. The Patrón bee is an exquisite example of less is more. Their stylized bee is not obtrusive, works well with the name as well as without it, and is recognizable at any size. 
   This is a tequila that sits on the shelf and is noticed immediately, it's associated with quality, and luxury. Even if you don't buy a bottle, you still take a moment to pause and admire. At least I do!



Well that was a long post and I could go on forever! In fact look out during the week for a couple of mini posts about some other brands that I want to discuss. Thank you so much for reading, this one was a lot of fun, and I hope as always that you enjoyed reading it. Post any comments concerns or questions below and have a fun, safe, and awesome weekend!




Alyssa out!

Multi-sensory Appeal: Sight Part 1

    Hello all! Happy February six more weeks of winter left. Weather talk gets boring so let get down to business (to defeat the Huns). We are going to talk about sensory marketing, which the American Marketing Association defines as the marketing techniques that aim to seduce the consumer by using the senses to influence his/her feelings and behavior. This principle is key for every marketing campaign. We are going to talk a little bit about how each sense is marketed to and we will go into depth later on.

This week’s topic is Sight, now this is a very large subject, so I’m going to break it into two separate posts. Today we will just focus on the shapes of items that we see and how they are designed to evoke emotions. Next week’s post will be about labels, colors, and how they portray quality.

What can Sensory Marketing do?

*By understanding sensory marketing you can build packaging that will affect the customer in the way you want it to.              

It’s no secret that people can be ruled by their emotions, we react to everything around us, so naturally they are valuable to marketing. Designing a package is a lot of hard work. All five senses have to be considered, you have to find out how your target market reacts, and take all that information and decide what senses are the most important. 

For sight we are going to look at the bottle design for several different vodkas. Vodka has become one of, if not the most popular spirit in the US today. There are a few attributes that are nearly universal when it comes to marketing and advertising for vodka: clear bottles, intriguing shapes, minimal colors, and minimal type. Most of these attributes are used to portray the clarity and purity of the vodka, how smooth the flavor is, and how valuable the product is. Here are a few brands that we will check out.

Anestasia Vodka

 Karim Rashid designed this beautiful work of art for Anestasia Vodka. He created a bottle design that emotionally works three-fold for the company.
1. The shape reflects the word vodka, the angles of the v and k are heavily prevalent in its' design, and it gives a tangible object for the consumer to feel instead of hear.
2. The company is located in Bend, Oregon at the foot of the Cascade Mountains which are famous for their crystal clear water. Transparent bottles are very important for vodka packaging since it portrays how clear and pure the product is. Also the rugged mountains are reflected in the shape of the bottle and are used to reflect the natural ingredients of the vodka.
3. Recycling is an important facet of Anestasia Vodka, they strive to reduce their carbon footprint, and do everything they can to promote sustainability. So this bottle is made out of recycled material and recommended for use as a decanter or vase.

Crystal Head Vodka

Designer John Alexander and comedian Dan Aykroyd created Crystal Head Vodka based on the legendary 13 crystal skulls that have been found all over the world. Not only is the bottle formed to resemble the crystal skulls but the vodka itself is filtered through 500-million year old crystals know as Herkimer diamonds. These crystals are believed to be the same crystal that the skulls are made from. So the bottle reflects the legend and the vodka is embedded with the spiritual properties of the crystal skulls themselves. Instead of calling their product Crystal Skull Vodka, they wanted to evoke emotions connected with the head, and as they put it, "a symbol of life to reflect the legend's message of spiritual power and enlightenment."


U'Luvka Vodka

U'Luvka is of Polish origins. They claim to use the same process that was used by the alchemist Sendivogius in the 16th century. This story, and how strongly it's tied to the company, show us that they are very proud of their heritage. They want the customer to feel that national pride when they see this bottle on the self.
   The company uses their alchemical history as the face of U'Luvka Vodka. The bottle shape is reminiscent of distillation bottles and also is representative of female (rounded base) and male (the neck). This relationship between female and male is a balancing act which alchemy is all about.
   Also it's about the transformation of one thing into another and if that doesn't sound like the process of creating vodka then I don't know what is. Transformation, harmony, and balance are fundamental within the practice of alchemy. These are all aspects of the science that are reflected in life that U'Luvka wants customers to feel.
   In keeping with the other vodka bottles you see that there is very little else to distract from quality of the product. The form and function of the bottle live in harmony and it sits upon the shelf as a very beautiful organic object. The functionality of the bottle lies in the bend of the neck where the thumb rest perfectly and allows bartenders to pour smoothly.

I hope that this has been fun and informative. I just love looking at all the different designs, and I hope you do too! Please if you have any questions, concerns, or comments leave them below. I'd love to respond to anything you have to say. Also if you know of any interesting designs please find me on twitter, or Facebook and send me a message. Your ideas and suggestions could even be the basis for my next post! Thanks again everyone, keep reading, and keep creating!