Packaging Trends

In the world of packaging, the prevailing trend seems to be "more is more," a cacophony of colors and chaos that begs the question: when did excess become the norm? The aftermath of my visit to the Chicago Sweets & Snacks Expo captures this frenzy perfectly—a visual cacophony of noise and clutter. Amidst the chaos, the Million Dollar Chocolate Bar catches my eye, not for its taste, but for its audacious branding. While it certainly stands out, I can't help but wonder: is it genuine?

One notable trend amidst the sea of vibrant hues is a welcome reduction in snack ingredients. With sugar intake a concern for many Americans, the emergence of natural fruit-infused and organic candies is a refreshing sight.

Amidst the visual noise, a few packages manage to cut through the clutter with ease. Take, for instance, Chef's Cut Jerky—a masterclass in effective hierarchy and minimalism. Its clean design allows the brand message to shine through in a matter of seconds, a critical window in today's short attention spans.

In contrast, Martin's apple chips employ a softer, more nostalgic tone, harkening back to a time of locally farmed ingredients. Hand-lettering remains a prevalent trend, adding a touch of authenticity to packaging designs.

Spot gloss and foil accents are on the rise, adding a touch of luxury to otherwise mundane packages. Joe's Chips, with its vintage truck illustration and oversized block type, exudes a wholesome, nostalgic charm reminiscent of the 1950s.

Behind these successful designs lies extensive research and a commitment to authenticity. In a consumer-driven world, staying true to your brand's identity is paramount. As my mom always said, be yourself—your brand will thank you for it.

Existential Design Thoughts

As a designer, I'm constantly reflecting on where my true passions lie. Perhaps it's the idealistic child within me, but I firmly believe in shaping one's career around the intersection of their deepest interests. Designing for pharmaceutical companies, while lucrative, doesn't quite align with the artistic aspirations that led me to art school. It's when I'm immersed in projects that resonate with my soul that life feels a little closer to perfect.

This notion of intertwining passions led me to embark on a side project inspired by a simple Venn Diagram. Picture each circle representing a different aspect of your life, with one circle symbolizing your career and the others representing your various interests. Now, imagine all these circles intersecting in real life. For me, it meant melding my love for craft beer, typography, and games into a creative endeavor.

Starting with pairing favorite beers with fitting quotes, I honed my typography skills while contemplating what brew the author of each quote might enjoy. Crafting coasters for Chicago-based breweries presented an intriguing challenge—how to capture the essence of each brand while ensuring recognition?

Beyond beer, my passions extend to volleyball, blueberries, and connecting with new people. As a bartender, I discovered the art of finding common ground with every patron, illustrating the natural overlap between design and social interaction. Could this synergy pave the way for a backup career? It's a possibility, especially considering the proliferation of platforms designed to facilitate connections.

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”

— Robert Greene, Mastery

Crowdsourcing

Today is the day every creative hopes to never face, like every other person in the world, I am passionate about what I do for a living! Yeah 'kay, but when I DO get excited about a project it is easy to spend every minute of my day nurturing it, putting all other deadlines on the back burner and going too far down that rabbit-hole of possibilities. There aren’t too many professions where you get to make things that you really love, and I am particularly fond of branding. As a creative, I always hope for enthusiastic reactions from my clients, which can leave some room for disappointment. But, hearing that my client has turned to crowdsourcing is an entirely different level of dissatisfaction that I am hoping to cope with.

Months ago, my agency presented 12 initial logo sketches to three decision makers - I led the creative presentations, always justifying my positioning and taking note of client feedback along the way. Collectively, we quickly narrowed to three options, and eventually the winner became obvious. Too good to be true, they decided upon my favorite logo option without any Frankenstein requests?

One thing that I've learned since undergrad, is that the word final is up for interpretation when clients are referencing design. 

In so many words, defined by my client. (2015)

In this case, my clients decided to show the rest of their company their final logo. Our agency never got an opportunity to show our initial sketches, and the reviewing board members refused to hear positioning statements. The result was that the board members "didn't understand it". Without any warning, the client posted the logo on 99designs for crowdsourcing. 

I truly hoped that upon seeing the purchased logo, I would feel okay with it. Out of 100 logos, it seemed that there could be a respectable option! Disappointment has set in, and the hilarity of the situation is that now I have been tasked with "cleaning-up" the logo that they purchased. They think it's too sharp, it's not quite symmetrical and the color just isn't right. I also get to extend their branding on all of their print collateral and redesign their website. The client was so excited about their new purchase that they even had temporary tatoos printed (before my clean-up), and were delighted to share their photo album with me after celebrating their brand launch! I am going to chalk this up to a big fat win, because: yoga.

Love the Work. Work to Love.

I've realized that my career is a constantly shifting target, and perhaps that's just the nature of being a creative. There's always this underlying drive to strive for better, to push boundaries, and to seek out work that truly resonates with our souls. I once heard someone say, "Your days are your life," and it struck a chord with me. Today, for the first time in almost two years, I have the luxury of working from home. Instead of braving an icy bicycle ride into the office, I found myself lingering in bed until 8:00 am, reflecting on the very reasons I chose the path of a designer.

Lately, when I think about work, it's become a laundry list of tasks to complete rather than a source of inspiration and fulfillment. I yearn for the kind of work that used to ignite my passion and energize me every morning. So, I've realized that it's time for a change. Every journey begins with a single step, and I've already taken that step in the right direction—now it's time to pick up the pace and charge forward!

It's time to envision the kind of world I want to inhabit and the work that truly excites me. I know it looks vastly different from what has been consuming my life in recent months. I was recently inspired by a talk by Tiffany Pratt, where she posed the question to her audience: "What are you synonymous with? What is authentic to you?" It got me thinking—what content would friends forward to me on Instagram? What would they think of when something reminded them of me?

Pratt's words reminded me that I need to bring spontaneity back into my life—to create the right environment for new opportunities to flourish. I want to collaborate with people who are just as excited to work with me as I am with them. Those people are out there, and it's time I stopped turning them away because of my overloaded schedule. "Find your tribe and love them hard”. As cheesy as this meme has become, I'm determined to live by those words.

It's time for a revolution—a revolution of passion, purpose, and authenticity.

Thoughts on writing

Why does putting my thoughts into words make me so nervous? As I stare at the eight unfinished blog posts sitting in my drafts folder, I can’t help but wonder. I pour so much heart into my designs—yet sharing my writing feels far more daunting than the pain of launching my portfolio site.

Maybe it’s the uncertainty behind my writing skills. I haven’t taken a writing class since college, while I’ve spent thousands of hours refining my design craft. And let’s be honest: when I’m unsure of the right word to use, I have no problem making one up.

The whole point of this blog is to practice facing that fear head-on. If I can learn to write more cohesively, maybe I’ll feel more confident articulating my work aloud. Either way, this blog gives me another outlet to share and explore—plus, one more place to add sketches of line art!