It is a different challenge from designing a direct mail piece
that will be dated as soon as it hits the mailbox.

Packaging is a delicate balance of typography, image and copy that
you hope will entice the consumer to buy,
as well as withstand the test of time while on the shelf.

Not unlike the concept of dating...

Coberg Dairy milk product line.

( Communication Arts Design Award Winner )

Graphic Artist's Dream Project~

Illustration, lettering, design and original package structure for a new
biscotti product from International Baking.

Since I'd already done the illustration, I tweaked the lettering
and did a variation of my own for personal Christmas giveaways.

( Baked my own biscotti, too. )

This fresh coffee line was for Sunflower Market's private label.

Since the bags themselves were your basic brown kraft paper,
I decided they had to be attention-getting with both image and color.

When I was with Pedersen-Gesk, I designed a dog food bag, and a
New York illustrator, Richard Newton, took my rough marker rendering
and sent back an oil painting that took everyone's breath away.

( And why shouldn't a dogfood bag be beautiful? )

Through Premium Waters, Inc. in Minneapolis,
I did many private label designs,
one of which was this grocery giant.

When Premium Waters first became my client,
they used corrugated boxes for case sales.
In 2002, I anchored the switch to registered film packaging.

( One guess who got to convert all those boxes to shrinkwrap? )

From this~

To this.

So as not to focus entirely on Cub Foods:

( Now multiply that by 200.. )

An off-shoot of Premium Waters was Zooom Beverage.
The owner, Dick Andron, asked me to create a design that could be efficiently
customized for regional high schools and their sports teams.
Zooom and Premium Waters took it from there.

If you see a similar bottle in the tri-state area, it started with me!

"Olives with an Attitude" for Sunflower Market private label.

The Sunflower Health and Beauty line was free of all those nasty
additives and fragrances, gentle, yet effective.
And not a single little bunny was harmed in the testing.

This was an exquisite-tasting line of chutneys, dipping sauces
and cooking marinades for Sunflower Market private label.

The artwork was budgeted for only two colors.

( Two-color can be riveting, if I do say so myself! )

"Nessie's Shortbread Bites" were Scottish shortbread mini-cookies
under the Sunflower Market private label.
They had to be displayed flat as well as upright.

And that little Scottish terrier? The first time I sketched him, he was perfect.
For some reason, I was never able to duplicate that look, so I used the same
drawing on all four panels and just moved the focus of his eyes.

( Now you know my darkest secret...)

Sunflower Markets had a great line of fresh nuts, trail mixes and dried fruits.

For the backgrounds I used scratchboard for the line art.

To me it communicated..."crunchy."

This was a fruit-flavored water beverage for Coca Cola's U.K. market.
(The Fruitopia-script was already designed, I didn't do it.)

This illustration, oil, is hanging in my studio; one of my favorites.

The Sunflower Market vitamin supplement line had about a hundred sku's.

Although it called for only a few production files
the trick was making sure all the names and information,
both longest and shortest, would fit on any of the labels.

I put this one in so you wouldn't think I designed only
original, evocative packaging. :)

I also update old familiar favorites.

( Four options for an update of the existing "FiberOne" cereal box.
Freelance project, Baker and Associates. )

Sometimes designing one thing, (the game box)
evolves into several offshoots; this one certainly did.

Decks of cards, coasters, tokens, and the game board itself.

(Freelance project, confidential client, very nice man)

Music CD Design

"And that," she said with a smile, "was that."

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