We love packaging and graphic design, so this one is right up our alley! And may also show our age, but whatever. VHS boxes used to be right up there with album covers for showcasing art that may or may not have all that much to do with what’s inside. Back before you watched everything on streaming with a tiny thumbnail you can hardly see from across the room, the VHS box had to grab your attention and hold it long enough for you to choose to buy or rent that movie. They were a nicely packaged chance for the distributors and designers to get the feel of movie across to their intended and hopeful audience. VHS tapes were the first time you could watch a movie on demand in your home, without commercials or being broadcast, and it was the wild west as far as design went!
The iconic Porsche crest: one of the most famous logo designs in automotive history. Did you know that the rearing horse was almost not the mark of the brand we all wish we could own? The brand started out with a simple word mark that just said “Porsche”, but in 1952, that mark was updated with the rearing horse and the colors that evoke the area of Germany where the cars are made. However, once the 60s hit, the logo was heavily criticized, because the older printing processes of the day had a hard time with it (pre-press is important, people!). There was an initiative launched that explored alternative marks, but luckily, the crest we know and love ultimately won out. Despite this short period of criticism, the crest became synonymous with Porsche and has remained unchanged through various iterations, standing as a distinctive and unmistakable symbol of the brand.
The Guinness harp is so recognizable, you may sometimes see it and think “Guinness” even before you think “Ireland”, which the harp is the national symbol of. In the 19th century, Guinness was supplied in bulk to bottling firms and pub owners who used their own labels. To protect the brand, Guinness introduced its own trademark bottle label in 1862, featuring an oatmeal-colored oval. This label included the harp, the Guinness name, and Arthur Guinness’s signature, establishing the core elements of the Guinness identity. In 1876, the harp design was registered as a trademark, based on the historic O’Neill or Brian Boru harp. Over the years, the harp logo has undergone several changes to keep up with the times and changes in design trends. The main distinguishing feature between the Guinness and Irish national emblems: the position of the straight edge. Guinness’s is on the left, and the Irish harp’s is on the right. So if you ever wondered which came first, the Guinness harp chicken or the Irish harp egg, now you know!
Have you ever started a new eating healthy initiative, and found that the foods you need to buy seem to be clearly packaged? You know, healthy foods always have “that look”. Desaturated colors, natural textures, serifed fonts. Well, not so fast. Sometimes, packaging design can utilize design principles for nefarious reasons: to trick consumers into thinking they’re making smarter food choices than they really are. Turns out, your perception of a packaged item of food being healthy is more important than the actual contents. Brands strategically use packaging elements to create the perception of healthiness, even when the nutritional reality may not align. Always be careful of the gap between perception and reality, which can lead to dietary choices you wouldn’t make if you were fully informed.
The Password Game puts your password making skill to the test. This game mimics the signup process for pretty much every website these days, but adds a twist…and another twist…and another. Each time you make a password, more and more ridiculous requirements are added, until it becomes very difficult! It kind of makes remembering our strong passwords seem a little less arduous, it could be worse if web applications get wind of these requirements!
We all wish we could think the way Leonardo da Vinci did. His effortless, innate creativity and understanding lead to not only amazing scientific discoveries, but also gorgeous, unparalleled works of art that is famous worldwide. Now we have the best chance we’ve ever had to try to get inside his mind, thanks to Google Arts & Culture, the arm of the tech giant committed to brining some of the most famous and influential works of art into the digital realm to be more accessible for everyone. “Inside a Genius Mind” showcases 1,300 pages of da Vinci’s notes all in one place, sourced from 28 separate institutions and collections. And because it’s Google, it’s not just digitized notes: they’ve made elements interactive and added explanations that help put some of the thoughts into the context of the modern world.
