At best, corporate identities are condensed brand essence; at a glance, recognition of reassuring badging that keeps your minis from your mercs.
Packaging, whilst incorporating the former, carries the additional burden of being brand posters; & thus responsible, in the final analysis, for the financial success of the brand.
We worked with ad agency Lowe Howard-Spink to create concepts for over 150 financial products from Lloyds commissioning the finest artists who employ high production values to visualise them, using gentle self-deprecating humour and irony to manoeuvre Lloyds away from the Marbled Halls of Banking to becoming the best bank on the high street.
'Swings and Roundabouts' was our concept for the Budget, for whatever year, because it's always the same – you win some, you lose some. Illustrator; Adrian Chesterman.
Perrier – Europe 1977 The label design.
European Union Monitoring Centre for Racism & Xenophobia – 1999 Our contribution to European unity; this particular part being very sensibly sited in Vienna, the home of nice Mr Hieder.
USA/Global 1995 Production company Arkangel were commissioned to record the complete works of Shakespeare. We designed the packaging for the 38-part set. Apologies to Archemboldo.
Global 1996. The famous matt-black bottled Cava that gave you that strange fuzzy feeling during the barbeque & violent nausea in the morning. Sorry!
Global 1991 A fading international tobacco brand, remembered for the black and gold plastic tub and the JPS Lotus Formula One team (Ayrton Senna's first drive). The remit from our client, BAT, was to create the ultimate tobacco gift range, designed to appeal to oriental businessmen who are required by their etiquette to return home with suitably expensive gifts.
France 1979 Corporate brand advertising on a grand scale for the agrichemicals giant. Produced by enamelling on sheet-steel in nine colours, these 4m long ads are enormously expensive but last for 100 years. The previous artist commissioned by Fisons was Toulouse Lautrec.
Europe 1981 The Leader of the Pack, the 1960s hit for the Shangri-Las, was the inspiration and the theme-music to a 90-second TV commercial directed by Ridley Scott. This item is one of several graphic designs that we produced for the movie and POS. All Wurlitzer jukeboxes, chrome fins and petticoats.
UK 1979 If Black Magic is lust, Dairy Box is fondness – a gift for aunts. This design was never used, considered by the brand managers to be way too radical, and yet it was included in the book The Best of British Packaging, the only entry from the confectionary trade.