NEW PACKAGING: Guinness Original

Alcohol brands don't get much more iconic than Guinness so GBD takes note when the Irish brewer overhauls its signature product with a design that, in a continuing trend, very much harks back to move forwards.

THOUGHTS

- The Front:

The new white label creates the white-black aesthetic used extensively in the brand's advertising to signify the drink's head and body respectively. Furthermore, the label picks up on the brand's heritage by taking inspiration from historic Guinness designs. As the back label explains in part (see image below), the red 'XX' graphic is a reference to the fact that, originally, Guinness used an increasing number of 'X's' on its porters to denote strength. In a direct comparison with today's range, the brand's high strength 'XXX' product can be equated with Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, whilst their mid-strength 'XX' product can be equated with Guinness Extra Stout or Guinness Original. Another point of interest in the design comes in the form of the text reading "Brewer's Source 1821". This is recognition of year Arthur Guinness II revised the brewery's recipe to produce Guinness Extra Superior Porter, the drink most closely associated with the stout we drink today.

Also worthy of note is the nice added touch of the embossed signature towards the top of the bottle. Of course, the signature is that of the brand's originator, Arthur Guinness, and is just the sort of extra piece of detail that helps elevate this design above its predecessor.

- The Cap: 

The cap design retains a simple and smart look with homage paid to the brands origin at St James Gate, Dublin.

- The Back:

The label on the back is smart with gold coloured font used for the first time to distinguish the drier product information. The text at the top at the top is a nice addition with the brand providing a short explanation of the 'XX' branding and employing white font to visually connect this content back to the front label design. 

SUMMING UP

This is a smart, mature design befitting of a brand icon such as Guinness. I love how the new design pays its respect to brewer's history and the evolution in branding from 'XX' to the 'Guinness Extra Stout' or 'Guinness Original' we know today. The brief explanation on the back of the bottle aids consumers in understanding the significance of the 'XX' branding and, in my mind, can only help in further enriching the narrative of this famous drink.

BRAND LINKS  
Guinness UK Website
Guinness Facebook

Guinness Twitter

LIMITED EDITION PACKAGING: Yorkshire Tea

Following on from PG's big revamp, I thought I would do a brief review of Yorkshire Tea's limited edition 'Where The Wild Things Are' packaging that has been knocking around store shelves recently. 

THOUGHTS

Yorkshire Tea went to town with this one with a truly delightful piece of WTWTA artwork that spanned all the main panels. 

The custom graphics integrated very well with the core box design and, thus, worked excellently in enhancing the sense of association between the two brands. Moreover, with small creatures of varying kind featured throughout the artwork, I felt my interest was maintained as I looked over the product. Indeed, I was charmed by the back panel in particular where a short poem about the Gruffalo "losing the deep dark wood" served as an entertaining way to relate the brand's campaign to get a million trees planted.

SUMMING UP

This was a great design from the Yorkshire Tea team that integrated seamlessly with their core look and communicated their campaign message in a way that actually put a smile on my face instead of just trying to sound worthy.

MORE INFORMATION

Please see: http://www.thegreatbritishdiet.co.uk/Articles/YorkshireTeaBags.html

BRAND LINKS  
Yorkshire Tea Website

NEW PACKAGING: PG Tips Original

I thought I would kick things off with one of Britain's most iconic brands that has harked back to deliver us new packaging billed as its “biggest revamp in 19 years”.

THOUGHTS

Shelf standout: My eye was definitely caught by the front panel’s confident, clean look. By eliminating blue – which was always Tetley’s calling card - and returning to the brand’s classic white colour scheme the product immediately stood in strong visual contrast to neighbouring teas. Moreover, the tone felt unique with its move towards a more premium feel in the everyday tea category.  

Personality:
- Primary panels (front and top): 

This is where the design exuded a significant amount of retro charm for me with its smart text and white, stripped-back look communicating a strong, classic proposition. 

A nod to a design of old...

Moreover, by virtue of this look, it felt like a relatively mature, sophisticated design that leaned much more heavily towards an upmarket positioning than its predecessor. That said, upon closer inspection, the cheery, fun personality of the brand’s mascot did shine through in the subtle Monkey graphic worked in to the lid’s heritage design element.

- Side panels: 

Taking the box off the shelf, the sides surprised me little as a more contemporary look was exposed. The panels delivered bold red and green statements together with icon-based graphics and slightly more playful type. Plenty of visual cues linked these panels back to the primary ones but the classic-contemporary split kept them disjointed in feel for me.

- Back panel: 

This was where the design let its hair down a bit with some of the fun we have come to associate with the brand. The text wasn’t too exciting but the brand’s much loved Monkey character finally got a showing with a large graphic showing him sporting some nifty Egyptian gear.

SUMMING UP

Cons: Whilst positive on the whole, I thought there was room for improvement in making the design more congruous with the fun and warmth the brand’s advertising communicates. The primary panels were a strong statement for me but I thought the others could have benefited from being relaxed to give us more charm and sense of homeliness. Indeed, it might be argued that the one key property through which most people now identify with the brand, Monkey, should have been given a more salient role in the design.

Pros: Personally I loved the return to all white panels just for the interesting nod to the past they represented. But nostalgia aside, I felt shelf standout was improved, plus the clean look struck me as a confident statement amongst its competitors that spoke a bit more loudly of iconic status and quality. Moreover, the slightly cheeky, fun-loving facets of the modern brand persona were expressed – albeit in a conservative manner. Indeed, in trying to make the product ‘relevant’ to a broad spectrum of consumers, I thought there were elements that, stylistically at least, could play to young and old alike. Furthermore, credit should be given to those involved for being brave and, for better or worse, producing a very interesting design iteration.

MORE INFORMATION

Please see: http://www.thegreatbritishdiet.co.uk/Articles/PGTipsOriginalTeaBags.html

BRAND LINKS  
PG Tips