IDY Creative - Branding, Package Design and 3D Viz

Welch’s, Concord, MA, has launched six varieties of its 100% juice in a custom, 14-oz PowerFlex™ PET bottle from Amcor PET Packaging (www.amcor.com). The proprietary design is Welch’s first panel-less, shelf-stable bottle and represents the first commercial use of a custom PowerFlex container, revealed an article in Packworld.com

The new package has a gently contoured and ergonomic shape and uses a full-body shrink label with colorful graphics that make the fruit images appear ready to pluck. “We were looking for a bottle that was upscale and would attract more consumers to the premium, 100% juice line,” explains Welch’s senior engineer Stratos Dimas. “It had to be very smooth with no bumps so that it could accommodate a full-body label. It also had to be hot-fillable, attractive, and easy to hold.”

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An article in Design week reveals that a milk container made from a type of pulp found in egg cartons has won the best packaging design category at the second Green Awards, held at the Guildhall, London EC2, last Friday.

The Green Awards were set up last year with the aim of rewarding businesses for communicating sustainability in a creative and original way.

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An article in designweek reveals that InterContinental Hotels Group is to launch a refresh of its Holiday Inn family, which will be implemented across all hotels, with branding by Interbrand.

Redesigned brand signage will be installed at hotels once they have implemented the relaunch programme, which aims to give Holiday Inn a ‘refreshed and contemporary brand image’.

The new identity uses the letter ‘H’ in white on green, with the addition of the particular brand name, such as Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express.

All Holiday Inn hotels open or under development are expected to have implemented the relaunch programme by the end of 2010, with the first due to open in spring 2008 in the US.
‘The changes we are making will ensure the Holiday Inn brand goes forward into the future with a strong and confident new image,’ says IHG’s chief executive Andrew Cosslett.

IHG expects the relaunch programme to allow Holiday Inn hotels to generate significantly higher revenue, as well as an enhanced return on investment for the room’s owners. Owners and franchisees will invest up to $1bn (£488 000) over a three-year period to carry out the brand relaunch to meet the required service and quality levels.

“Manifesting brand essence through packaging is powerful at retail,” declares Ron Pence, Pepsi Senior Marketing Manager for packaging innovation, in a Shelf Impact’s article. The Pepsi brand reflects youth and vitality, and those virtues shine through on its new 20-oz bottle for the U.S. market.

Working with 4sight, a structural packaging innovation firm, Pepsi created the new bottle as a cornerstone of its “Choreography” branding program.

The bottle design helps the brand remain relevant with teens and young adults by integrating the equity in the Pepsi logo and delivering greater visual impact in stores.

The new design extends the branding beyond the label by adding the Pepsi globe and name onto the bottle. Lines of the iconic Pepsi globe logo are expressed as horizontal waves, and waves above and below the label uncoil from top to bottom, giving the bottle more visual definition when exposed to light on store shelves.

“Wherever you look, there is branding in all directions,” says Stuart Leslie, 4sight President. “No matter which way the bottle faces, consumers will see two Pepsi globes embossed on top, above the label, and the Pepsi name prominently displayed in two areas at the bottom.”

The PET bottles are sourced through multiple suppliers.

The new design balances creativity and function, Pence notes. Marketers at Pepsi get a bottle that reinforces the brand’s image and position in the soft drink industry. The bottle also succeeds from an operations perspective. It withstands carbonation pressure, design elements in filled bottles retain their shape and sharpness over time, and the bottles adhere to Pepsi’s existing manufacturing standards.

Yes, we’re launching the new IDY Creative. And we’re narrowing our core services: Naming, Focus Groups, Corporate ID, Packaging Design, Multimedia and Web Design. We’re targeting inventors, entrepreneurs, and companies or individuals with a new product idea or whose product needs a make-over.
Oh, and this thing we’re calling “Virtual Photography” (or something like it). We model and render your product in 3D on the computer, eliminating the need for expensive, clumsy, and frankly imperfect photography. Another great advantage of Virtual Photography is that changes in the package, lighting, camera angle, etc. can be made quickly and easily. Try that with a traditional photo shoot!

The whole idea is to help you get your product or service seen by your target audience, which will generate sales.

We’re real excited about the new us. Stay tuned for a new web site coming soon.

Please comment on the new look!

I’m going to create a packaging design “Hall of Fame“, and post my favorite examples. There will be rules set up - no entries prior to 1950 or so… I’ll get back to you on this. Don’t confuse ours with the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s, or anyone else’s HOF. Maybe we’ll call it IDY Creative’s Packaging Design All-Stars or something.
I’d love to get everyone’s feedback and submissions.

Of course, if a packaging design Hall of Fame exists out there on the web, please tell me.

What do you think?

IDY recently completed its rebrand of the popular Blow Off, Stick It and Lube Job cleaners, adhesives and lubricants.

A.V.W., Inc., an aerosol product manufacturer and marketing company, realized it was the end of the road for its current line up.

They contracted IDY to redesign its entire line of products under one brand. Max Professional puts a professional face on industrial products that look the part and get the job done.

The rebrand was needed for a serious bid to get the products into The Home Depot, Ace Hardware and other large retailers. These heavy hitters didn’t take A.V.W.’s earlier efforts seriously, in one case literally laughing at the cartoon characters and risque brand names.

The marketing firm hopes the new brand will make it to shelves within the year. Stay tuned.

The blog you are reading is featured on the new business web site, work.com. That’s right, both of you who actually read this blog, I’m talking to you.

We’re featured in the Guide to Packaging Labels section under “Best blogs and forums”. We’d really like to be listed as a solution provider (uh, guys?), but it’s a start.

Work.com provides excellent how-to articles, advice, and helpful links to small businesses. There’s a category for everything from legal, to money and finance, to personnel.
The extra eyeballs means we will be updating this blog more than twice a year as in the past. So stay tuned for some good stuff on branding and packaging.

Our thanks go to work.com.

An article in this month’s Prepared Foods Magazine reveals that Americans are buying more health and weight-loss foods than ever. Of the 10 top-selling new foods or beverages in 2005, six are positioned for weight-loss, in one form or another. A study by Information Resources Inc. reveals that Kraft’s South Beach product line lead the pack.

Read more of the article here.

A friend of mine totally “gets” the new Apple TV spots. “Hello, I’m a PC.” “And I’m a Mac.”

I’m no sure they convey the right message. Admittedly, it’s hard to wrap up the utopian experience of using a Mac into a 30-second spot.
Any opinions?