food packaging

Typography

Chalk Type by Dana Tanamachi

By Delphine Hirasuna |

In an age when so much design is digitally generated and has the look of being manufactured, it is refreshing to see beautiful display type letters drawn freehand with chalk. Not the kind of hastily written “daily special” menus seen on chalkboards in neighborhood cafes, the chalk lettering of Brooklyn-based designer Dana Tanamachi recalls the lost art of early 20th century storefront sign painters with their mix of outline and script letters, decorative flourishes, and subtle shading.

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Product Design

Over the Moon Cakes

By Delphine Hirasuna |

The must-do gift of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival season, mooncakes have become more luxurious and lavish in their presentation than ever. In China, mooncake gifting is a multi-billion dollar industry. Opulently packaged mooncakes, typically sold in boxes of four, cost upwards of $45, with each cake elegantly displayed or nestled in its own container. As pricy as this is, Chinese social etiquette pretty much demands that everyone give these sweet delicacies to friends, family, co-workers, clients and sometimes even government officials during the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival.

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Brand Language

When the Person Is the Brand

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Like Martha Stewart, Charles Schwab and Ralph Lauren, renowned chef Wolfgang Puck is a brand unto himself. His name evokes a promise of culinary quality, fine dining, and contemporary style. Little wonder that his enterprises have expanded from celebrated restaurants like Spago in Beverly Hills to a line of quick-serve Wolfgang Puck Express and contemporary casual Wolfgang Puck Bistro dining establishments to the retail sales of a broad array of licensed branded products, ranging from coffee and soups, frozen appetizers and pizzas, to pots and pans.

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