Orla Kiely is a fantastic designer who has created clothing, handbags and all manner of decorated household items. Somehow however it is always her packaging design that I find most refreshing. Especially when she teams up with environmentally friendly cleaning product company Method. This is the second time they have produced wonderful packaging design together and their work only ever seems to get better!

The 'Method' element to the packaging is what gives it the wonderful shape. All of the packaging is designed to have a flattering and attractive shape, quite unlike most other cleaning products and hand washes around today. This attractive shape also makes it nice to use as well as nice to look at and increasing consumer satisfaction is always a surefire way to gain returning sales.

The different mix of patterns and colours matches the scent of the product which gives a coherent feel to the entire range. The classic Orla Kiely designs also seem to reflect the uniqueness of the brand altogether and give them both an elevated status in terms of product and design.

The label that is featured on all products across the range has the iconic Orla Kiely typography and design upon it to leave the consumer in no doubt as to who the designs were created by. The designs themselves have a beautiful tone to them that are entirely different to the usual range of colours used in cleaning and household products.

Not only should you have that Friday feeling but it is also February and you know what that means. Valentines Day. I know we have another 14 days before we get drowned in pink and red but in that time we have to find gifts for our loved one which can be easier said than done. There is some great (and not tacky) stuff to be found out there however and packaging design is a huge part of it.

Not only is this a kickin' gift idea but it's also a fantastic piece of packaging design! The classic Moet shape oozes luxury and quality which is exactly what you want from a valentines gift. The colour scheme has managed to avoid the tacky pink of most valentines products and combined with the gold looks worth the £75 it is priced at. The £75 however does include the pen and two champagne flutes. The gold pen allows you to make the packaging your own with whatever message or image you decide to write or draw. This customisation is far more easily achieved than getting the bottles label printed specially and also means that the message with be in the gift givers handwriting, making it far more personal. The overall design of this exclusive gift is superb and would make a fabulous gift for a loved one.

Pereg is a natural gourmet food company selling high quality spices, ingredients and other small snacks. The packaging redesign across all of their products has been orchestrated by Squat Design, a graphic design company who have worked on packaging design, graphics, animation, marketing, web design and stationary.

These snack crackers are not marketed or designed to join the crowded snack/crisp market. Instead they have been geared towards the creation of other foods. Whether that be appetisers or lunch food. The basic packaging is quite simple with an easy to use, open and re-seal box with an interior bag. The window in the packaging is the same shape as the product giving the consumer an idea of what to expect. The hand drawn images of the ingredients and the high quality images of 'serving suggestions' gives an impression of a high quality luxury product.

The packaging redesign has incorporated Pereg's new logo/typography. The hand written element reinforces the 'family run' company feel and give the consumer more trust in the brand as a whole. The excellent colour, flavour and style association on the front of the packaging also suggests that the company knows what they are doing when it comes to their products giving the consumer further trust in the brand.

7 Eleven is a popular food chain in America, they sell food throughout the day including a great selection of coffee and breakfast foods the packaging for which has been re-designed to give them an updated look to better reflect the brand.

The classic 7 Eleven colours and stripes have been turned into something even more iconic with this new design. The outline of the 7 has been made with a combination of green and white stripes along with orange and red ones showing the 11. These stripe designs have been applied across all of their packaging materials from coffee cups and sugar packets to takeout bags and napkins. They have unified their packaging as a recognisable whole which allows consumers to get familiar with their products as well as attracting new consumers with their enticing products surrounded by their highly recognisable packaging. The design by BVD was intended to be simple and represent the brand as a whole without the use of a ton of text and images.

I am addicted to alcohol packaging. Wines, beers, spirits and all manner of alcohol consumption and creation related products and their packaging make my world go round. Please let me know in the comments if I'm not alone. Here are some of my favourite alcohol packaging designs!

This beer packaging design is genius! The outer box is designed to look like an old fashioned tape player and radio, the detail of all the buttons, switches and even the screws is fantastic. The window that would usually reveal the cassette instead shows the iconic beer label and the slogan 'it's Miller time' fits in with the idea that drinking Miller is something to be done when relaxing and enjoying time with friends. 

This Pinot Noir packaging has an element of spookiness about it. The font used that appears to be printed directly on to that glass is highly decorative and is reminiscent of something that could be found in very old books. The grey decoration on the dark glass also has a smokey effect and doesn't really jump out at the consumer making it harder to read. The label has the classic Alice in Wonderland 'drink me' idea on it and the product is made to seem of higher quality with a real wax seal.

You'd think after all the celebrating done over the Christmas holidays we'd be sick of the sight of alcohol and spirits, but this packaging is just too good to resist. This beautiful Kirk and Sweeney bottle is based on the rum smuggling ship it was named after. The neck of the bottle has imagery of the ship itself along with some exclusive information about the alcohol within. Having packaging that is obviously different for each product makes it special and more desirable. The cork in the top of the bottle adds to an authentic feel and makes it look almost as if it could have been smuggled on a ship, the seal on top of the cork makes it feel like a luxury product and the gold colour makes it even more so. The imagery on the bottle of compasses and maps adds to the character of the packaging. The gold and white colour of all the decoration adds to the amber liquid background and the basic shape of the bottle looks beautiful.

Well, yes. This New Zealand based packaging company has their finger on the pulse in terms of packaging. They have produced some wonderful designs that make their clients products super competitive in their respective fields. 

This vodka packaging brings a humorous side a the luxury brand. They have used the idea of the ideal gentlemen to create decoration for each different sized bottle. This is not only amusing as items such as mustaches and bowler hats have become popular culture but also gives the idea that vodka is a gentleman's drink.

Another fantastic example of packaging design that communicates branding is Karma Cola. All of the ingredients are sourced from fair-trade cooperating farms and companies, meaning that some of the profit is given to their sources to help the surrounding area prosper. The imagery on the packaging is simple, an earthy simple drawing of an angel and devil, linking to the brand philosophy. All of the packaging is simple and easily translates the brands purpose to the consumer.  The bottle its self is simple and functional and is well designed to do its job without seeming flashy.

We are all so used to certain products being packaged in certain ways that when something is packaged alternatively people notice immediately. Being ahead of the packaging trends (or setting them in effect) is the only way to get a consumers attention in the ongoing war of brands and products.

Johnny Cupcakes is, weirdly, a t-shirt brand. It's t-shirt packaging is not t-shirt packaging, it is 'frosting tins' and 'ice cream tubs'. Everything from the style and shape to the label and materials used to put this packaging together is exactly the same as those found on frosting tins and ice cream tubs. The originality when it comes to the packaging is one of the reasons these t-shirts are so sought after.
The weirdest element of this packaging is the fact that it was packaging originally designed for a different product. Usually packaging is created to hold a product in the most efficient way but now things are so competitive, the brief for producing new packaging designs has changed entirely.

Trends in the world of packaging happen just as much as those in fashion and other sectors and one of my favourite trends is packaging that is very visual. Mostly full of images, textures and patterns.

The clear end of the packet shows the pebble looking fruit candy (the packaging world has seen weirder products believe me) with a clear image of what it looks like inside. Despite this packaging showing the actual product rather than images, the way the packaging is laid out makes it appear very visual.

This packaging is very visual. The images of the fruits, some left untouched, some cut and photographed in an artistic fashion.

Despite only being a single colour image, it still makes up the majority of the packaging and inserts an element of humour.

It seems the companies never tire of making limited edition versions of their products and along with the 'limited' name tag usually comes some fairly special packaging.

The above image shows an ordinary bottle of Jack Daniels in comparison with a limited edition 'Sinatra Select' bottle, in honour of Frank Sinatra who was a big fan of the drink.

This limited edition bottle of Bombay Sapphire is to celebrate their 250th anniversary. The stopper was specially designed by creative director Stephan Webster.

Limited edition Nutella jars that focus on the roots of the product - Italy. With Several different designs and good quality packaging, it is a highly desirable product for consumers.

All images via Packaging of the World