The Good, the Bad
and the Ugly

I’ve been struggling to write this entry for a while, mostly because I still can’t really put my finger on why I think it’s so special. There are many books on how colour affects people, and a few on how particular colours strike emotions – but what I’m more interested in is how a colour represents a brand so much that when you see the colour, you think of the brand.

Take an engagement box for example. It could be white or black. Most people could have a good guess at what’s inside, but they wouldn’t be able to say where it came from – or at least which store. They might stir a little emotion inside, but by simply changing the colour, for some it can change how they feel.

A box from Tiffany & Co

When presented with a box of this colour, most people (or one might dare say, people who it matters to) will instantly recognise it as a Tiffany’s box. It brings a flutter to one’s heart, a moment of envy and lust. A normal box might not evoke this reaction, but simply because of its colour (and maybe the bow), it creates a whole new meaning.

It’s easy to critique, everybody does it, and it’s necessary if what we design is to get any better, but we most also remember to praise. Some people have never seen a second-generation iPod, which personally is my favourite (mine was stolen, I still consider buying another though).

Before iPods starting having touch screens and click-wheels, they used to look like this. Four simple, functional buttons, a wheel and a select button. It would play your music and you could play a couple of games, but little else. The buttons lit up red when you turned the backlight on. To me, a classic design.

I was going to start the blog with a Good post, but unfortunately my favourite supermarket is currently committing design suicide by re-branding 1,400 items with the same design, “essential Waitrose”. The packaging is simple, clean and minimalist. I didn’t mind it to begin with, as there are some occasions, such as bread, where it isn’t always clear which one is the best value for money. Now, it’s easy to see.

However, they probably should have stopped at about 250 products, because they’ve just replaced one of my favourite packaging designs, their pure and clear set honey.

The original design designed by  Turner Duckworth, which has worn awards, is wonderful – featuring a bee for an E!

But Mark Price, the MD of Waitrose has other ideas.

“Customer research tells us that although we are a destination store for quality products, shopping for our own label essential items hasn’t been as easy as it could be.”

“Waitrose Own Label lines have always been produced to a superior quality and even sold as a stand-alone brand in quality supermarkets throughout the world. essential Waitrose effectively combines the quality our customers have come to expect and the reassurance of Waitrose values, together with affordable prices and an easily recognisable brand.”

Waitrose honey comes under this essential idea, although I never really thought of honey as being essential, now looks like this.

Comparing the original and the essential design, you know which one looks better, which one you’d rather have in your larder or on your breakfast table. I wouldn’t even say that the original looks expensive, I just know it doesn’t look cheap.

Waitrose’s main problem with branding everything with the same label is that my fridge now is a wash of white. I’m actually now actively buying the more expensive products just to add a bit of variation to the larder.

It’s not that the new design is ugly, it just doesn’t need to be on milk, honey or farfalle (it’s a type of pasta, apparently).