Nothing puts packaging over the top like a creative injection of personality, whether that means the designer’s or that of the product itself. This week, we meet a Polecat put together by a bison (!), get sloshed with famous authors of the past, and gorge ourselves on a funky blend of Chinese iconography and Disney, all with the goal of selling “moon cake.” (Previous Cool Packaging of the Week can be found here.)
Polecat CD Packaging
Bellingham, Wash. roots music quintet Polecat has a gritty, traditional sound that naturally cries out for a similar hands-on, down-to-earth packaging. Each Polecat CD cover is letterpress printed at that city’s Bison Bookbinding & Letterpress, and then hand folded, glued and packaged by members of the band.
Aleing Authors Beer Packaging
Increasingly we see student projects that turn out to be items we would gladly pay good money for. Naturally there are a few good reasons for this: The bar to entry for creating great design is lowering, inspiration is everywhere, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a lot easier to craft one of something than it is to make (and pay for) thousands. Still, a great piece is a great piece, and this one is a humdinger.
Moon Cake Packaging
Remember those days long ago when you could look at something without having the ability to instantly place it into context with a quick Google search? Thankfully, we’re still able to remain clueless when it comes to items whose descriptions are rendered in a language we cannot read. Take this amazing Disney-themed packaging for moon cakes in China. Drink in that beautiful foil stamping work. Feast your eyes on those sumptuous boxes featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Chinese surroundings. Dig the gorgeous Chinese iconography. We spent the first few minutes trying to figure out if this is a) an example of China’s cavalier attitudes toward American copyrighted material, or b) the cartoon equivalent of those commercials American celebrities do in Japan on the understanding they’ll never be shown here. And then we relaxed, realizing that there is so much to love in this packaging, if these pieces ARE somehow “unauthorized,” we can happily live with that. (Many, many more photos here.)
