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This minimal packaging design for Artemis Coffee was developed by Watts Design, an award-winning studio operating out of Melbourne, Australia. A transparent viewing window where the coffee cup is currently situated would have been a nice touch, but you have to love the irony of using a retro Art Deco aesthetic in this contemporary packaging.
Stephanie Choplin is a French product designer who came up with the concept of Tetric Pots. Not only are the forms nostalgic for 80s video game fans, but the pots function very nicely as well. The design is colourful and simple, allowing you to arrange the Tetris blocks in a variety of ways to create your own floral display.
Sparks of creativity don’t always (…sometimes rarely!) occur while sitting at your desk and great designers know this. Why do you think so many design studios and advertising agencies look the way they look? It’s to get the designers’ creative juices flowing by fostering a more playful and interactive environment. Most of the time, the best ideas come to mind when you’re not thinking about work at all. Exploration and socialization are necessary parts of the creative process and judging by the looks of these 5 agencies and studios, they take play very seriously!!
* click on the images to see more office space
1. Bloom Project (Germany)
The golden rules are based on the 3 most important factors that every designer should consider when it comes to project management - the duration of a project, the costs, and the quality of work produced.
It is imperative that you manage your clients’ expectations when it comes to these crucial factors. You must explain to them that even the top designers cannot offer the best of all 3 variables; clients simply cannot have their cake and eat it too! Normally, only two of the variables can favour your clients. They need to compromise and meet you part-way since the remaining variable has to balance out the two favourable variables, as illustrated by the 3 golden rules:
It’s unfortunate that almost all forms of packaging eventually end up in the garbage bin; so much time and money is spent on product packaging, yet the end game is usually a landfill. On occasion, people will keep limited-edition boxes or reusable bags, but the only proven way to entice consumers to keep packaging is by providing an incentive (like Honda’s “Grow-a-brand” DM and Breeze Detergent’s “Clean Me” DM). So what about packaging that turns into a useful item for the product itself?
One of the first things you should do as a freelance designer is separate your personal name from your professional design brand. Unless you’re a celebrity, athlete, or other type of public figure, using your name as the basis for your brand is probably not the best idea. Although both your name and brand are important to selling your creativity, it is crucial for freelance designers to distinguish between the two for the following reasons:
1. Your brand is about your professional services and creative portfolio. When a potential client is deciding on a freelance designer to work with, the portfolio and range of work are the most important factor so it’s crucial that you delegate enough time and resources to this. Don’t just try to smooth-talk and force-build rapport; instead, sell your creativity through your work! The way you present your work also speaks volumes about you as a designer so pay careful attention to the details.
2. Your name is about your character and personality. This is where your brand facade and voice come from, distinguishing you from your competition. Once clients are sold on your work, you can develop a deeper relationship with them by revealing more about the name and personality behind the brand. Also, keep in mind that referral work is important for growth, so if your clients already approve of your brand portfolio, their decision on whether or not to refer you to a friend will be based on your personality.
Beautiful illustrations by Madrid-based illustrator Gabriel Moreno. He has a unique style of combining various colours and images together seamlessly. The pen control and level of detail in his artworks rival that of Andrea Joseph and Cath Riley.
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