Packaging

Chips Ahoy!

By Delphine Hirasuna | June 1, 2012September 5, 2014

We are not sure where the nautical theme originated, but the anchor that serves as an ampersand in the John & John logo implies that there is some sailing connection. This may have inspired The Peter Schmidt Group in Hamburg to design packaging that subtly suggests the geometric shapes of maritime flags. The handcooked potato chips are made in the UK and imported to Germany by Hamburg-based Market Grounds. Each chip flavor is identified by a bold black number, so that even if German consumers can’t recall which flavor they like, they can recognize it by number. The prominent numbers also serve to brand the entire John & John potato chip line, giving the brand greater store shelf presence. They also make it easy for customers to see when another flavor has been added – just look for a new number.

Architecture

Oberhausen’s Slinky Springs Bridge

By Delphine Hirasuna | May 3, 2012September 4, 2014

If this bridge in Oberhausen, Germany, reminds you of a slinky toy, that’s exactly what inspired it. German artist Tobias Rehberger spiraled 496 coils around a rainbow colored walkway that crosses over a canal to connect two existing parks. Rehberger collaborated with structural engineers Schlaich Bergermann and Partner to realize his design. The structure consists of pre-cast concrete plates, spiral bars and railing made of steel and net cable, all attached to high-strength steel stress ribbons connected to the inclined supports on both sides of the canal. The 1,332 foot walkway has a synthetic finish that kind of bounces when you walk. It is presented in 16 different colors, matched in color on the underside of the bridge which is made out of a different material. The Slinky Bridge is luminous with color and definitely puts a spring in your walk.

Industrial Design

VW’s Transparent Factory

By Delphine Hirasuna | March 19, 2012September 4, 2014

VW’s Phaeton transparent factory in the heart of downtown Dresden runs counter to the traditional impressions of a car assembly plant. Instead of blue-collar workers, there are white-gloved technicians. Instead of deafening noises, there is the hushed atmosphere of a research lab. The floors are lovely Canadian maple, and the walls are clear glass, which is why a loudspeaker outside imitates territorial bird sounds to keep birds from flying into the glass. There are no smokestacks, shrill sounds or noxious fumes. The grungier stamping, welding and painting of steel bodies take place elsewhere. VW’s transparent factory, designed by architect Gunter Henn and opened in 2002, showcases the final assembly of the luxury Phaeton sedan. Futuristic, exacting, open, and pristine, the Dresden facility is as much a marketing device as a working production plant, drawing thousands of visitors for tours each year. This video is from Megaworld Germany.

Illustration

Noma Bar Goes 3-D for Wallpaper* Magazine

By Delphine Hirasuna | March 9, 2012September 4, 2014

With London-based Israeli illustrator Noma Bar, viewers have to look at his work at least twice — once to see the image in the positive space and again to see how the shape of the negative space creates a whole other picture. That’s the way Bar likes it. “Most of my images are not immediately obvious to readers. Most of them require a second reading or take a minute to interpret.” Irresistibly drawn to making viewers do double-takes, Bar extended this approach in another direction on the cover of Wallpaper* magazine, painting in 3-D and incorporating real objects.

Bar was commissioned by Wallpaper* , an international authority on cutting-edge design and style, to create eight newsstand covers for its Global Design issue, one for each of the world’s top design territories –Germany, the U.S., France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Belgium and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark). Tony Chambers, Wallpaper* editor-in-chief, says, “Bar entered a new dimension just for us. His cover designs are, in fact, room sets, painted in a three-dimensional studio space and integrating actual products from each of the territories.”

Advertising

VW Phaeton Ad Spoofs Cubist Art

By Delphine Hirasuna | December 30, 2011September 4, 2014

Here’s an effective print ad for VW Phaeton that doesn’t show the product at all — not the exterior, interior, engineering marvels or even a silhouette of the product. In fact, you wouldn’t make the connection to an automobile, much less a specific brand, if you didn’t see the VW logo and read the tagline at the bottom of the page: “Arrive in better shape. The Phaeton with adaptive air suspension.” At first glance, the ad just looks like an intriguing dissection of Cubist art. Look again. The humor (and the marketing message) come through when the ad is taken in as a whole. Very clever.