It seems a new product is being introduced every two seconds, so there’s no denying the importance of package design. Whether practical, responsible or just plain pretty, these three innovative designs get noticed.

More than just a pretty face

All images on these labels are from family photo albums. Caffe Artigiano, which is run by brothers Vince and Sammy Piccolo, turned to Vancouver’s Subplot Design to create good-looking yet functional packaging for its new line of specialty coffees, produced by another Piccolo brother, Michael. The brothers handed piles of family photo albums over to Subplot, and the designers chose 16 images to represent the new Caffe Artigiano roasts. The personal photos were Subplot’s idea, and aim to reinforce the café’s image as a family company, and to express some of the family’s personality traits like hospitality and a lively sense of humour. Since it is still a small family business, keeping the packaging costs down is important. So, the packaging is modular – different labels identify each blend, saving the company the cost of producing entirely different packages for each flavour.

Drink responsibly

This clean, colourful Tetra packaging is the result of a challenge to global winemakers by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to design innovative, environmentally friendly alternatives to glass bottles. French wine-maker Boisset responded by packaging its premium French Rabbit brand in one-litre recyclable Tetra Pak containers, giving customers more wine than the typical 750-mL bottles while using 90% less packaging. Plus, the cartons are shatterproof and lightweight, making them easier to transport. The attractive packaging, designed by Boisset, seems to be working: within two weeks of its late-July launch in Ontario, it had already reached half a year’s sales target.

Practically delicious

This box for the Delissio microwavable pizza, launched earlier this year, does more than just contain the product – it doubles as a crisping tray and ring, allowing the pizza to rise and crisp in the microwave. The box has been long in the making – the folks at Kraft didn’t want to launch a microwavable product until they could ensure the pizza would match their oven-baked variety in quality. The crisping tray was designed in-house.