As a creative professional, one of my favorite ways of looking for creative inspiration and motivation is by searching through product packaging.
There seems to be a strong relationship between great, simple package design and inspiring artworks, because when I look at a package that was designed well, I instantly get motivated to create something as compelling. When looking at a package design, I take note of what the creator did that was unexpected, or what was done to the actual design to make it stand out from the competition. As a result I come up with ideas that are similar in composition or process.
Here are a few of my personal favorite package designs that are simple, effective, and definitely creative. From removing everything unnecessary, making the obvious even more interesting, creating a physical interpretation of a meaning, or making something bland into a work of art, these package designs are sure to inspire your creativity and motivate you to create something as compelling.
Motorola Saros
Designed by
jKaczmarke, the packaging for Motorola’s new home entertainment system was designed to match the logo design of the same product. The package features a cutout circle on the front of the outside package, and a smaller sphere printed on the inside package, to resemble the changing phases of an eclipse - which features of the logo and the product itself both resemble.
Waitrose Pure Honey
The packaging for Waitrose’s Pure Clear brand of honey is just that: pure and clear. The packaging is - to me, anyway - the product itself, and that is what makes it compelling. Void of any design elements other than the logo and product name, this jar of honey is a beautiful one that would standout amongst other, busy-looking honey packaging designs. Keeping the package straight to the point is sometimes more effective than adding other, unnecessary elements to it.
Macbook Air
What kind of creative package design article would this be if it didn’t include something from one of the biggest companies in the world,
Apple? For their packaging design of the new Macbook Air, Apple decided to keep things as simple as possible, showing only a picture of the product and the product name on the box. The ending result is a beautiful, and intriguing, product design that looks unbelievably great against a hardwood floor backdrop.
Pepsi
Another package design by
jKaczmarke, this Pepsi can features artwork inspired by a series of Pepsi television commercials. The can has been transformed from being a simple branded can, into a work of art. Instead of trying to use the can as an advertisement, the can has become a branded, easy-to-recognize, artwork that some people are sure to hold on to - rather than throw away after drinking from.
Try finding inspiration in package designs, especially when they are as well-designed as the ones featured here; whether that means removing unnecessary things from your life, focusing on seemingly bland aspects of a problem, or making something into a completely different thing (like art), package design is more than just packaging, it’s creative inspiration.
Original photo by Steve Keys.