I love packaging. I think visual branding is amazing. When it’s done right, it can be unbelievably beneficial to a company’s recognition, equity, and bottom line. Here are 12 excellent examples of beautiful packaging. Each one tells a story, which is your favorite? (Mine is #7!)

1. Waitrose Herbs || I love the way the packages are beautiful, but also informative.

Image from lovelypackage.com || Waitrose Herbs 

2. Frts&Ygrt || Love the name of the brand, first of all. And the way it’s packaged looks absolutely delicious.

Image from thedieline.com || frts&ygrt

3. Trata On Ice || I hate seafood, except for crabs from Maryland. But if I were to like the stuff, it would be because I bought it in the packaging pictured below.

Image from blogof.francescomugnai.com || Trata On Ice

4. Noté || This packaging was originally created because the company wanted to reduce the plastic waste used to package headphones. Lovely.

Image from droold.com || Noté

5. Harriet’s Jolly Nice Ice Cream || A little whimsical, a little quirky, all-around well done. The flavors sound great, too!

Image from bpando.org || Harriet’s Jolly Nice Ice Cream

6. Izze Sparkling Juice || One word: yum! Talk about packaging selling your product for you.

Image from izze.com || Izze Sparkling Juice

7. Festina Watches || This is my favorite. Absolutely genius. The watches are marketed as highly waterproof, so they are sold in pouches of water. The confidence the creators have in their product is wonderful and rare.

Image from boredpanda.com || Festina Profunda Watches

8. Hatziyiannakis Dragee Candy || Apparently a household name in Greece, this candy manufacturer rolled out their well-known product in sleek, modern packaging.

Image from thedieline.com || Hatziyiannakis Dragee Candy

9. Milky || As part of a design contest, the winner created this packaging for cereal and milk. Such a neat concept, and very eye-catching, especially since cereal and milk packages are usually so similar to one another (read:boring).

Image from packagingoftheworld.com || Milky Design Contest, Student work

 10. Maruchan Instant Lunch || This trumps the current Ramen packaging big time.

Image from monomoda.com || Maruchan Instant Lunch

11. Granfarina || This clear, simple packaging proves that even household staples can be presented beautifully.

Image from designlovefest.com || Granfarina

12. Spaghetti Redesign || As part of a school project, Alex Creamer was asked to redesign a spaghetti box. This is what he came up with–it is awesome.

Image from thetoptenz.net || Spaghetti box redesign for school project by Alex Creamer

There are many, many more examples of beautiful and unique packages out there, especially on Pinterest, where I was able to find links to many of the packages I featured on this post. Please, comment below and share your favorite!

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Our world is filled with exclusivity and elitism. There are major barriers to entry in almost every facet of our lives–from the schools we attend, to the airlines we fly, to the organizations we’re a part of, to the trips we can afford, to the clothes we wear. Emphasis, for Abercrombie & Fitch, on the clothes we wear.

This week, the 68 year old CEO of A&F, Mike Jeffries made the following statement:

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

The people of the internet backlashed like crazy. His words were put over a wide variety of photographs, and generated thousands of comments and reposts. People got mad. Really mad.

Image from Facebook

One guy decided to give A&F a brand readjustment for himself. Check out the video below, it is absolutely hilarious. I found myself yelling “amen!”

From a marketing standpoint, being exclusionary is absolutely necessary. Some marketers even say that the most important aspect of a company’s strategy is who they’re not marketing to. Trying to target everyone simply won’t work. It just won’t. Every single successful brand is exclusionary.

That being said, being mean, cruel, and unkind is not necessary in creating an exclusive brand. If A&F was marketing their clothes to precisely their target market effectively, the CEO would never have to make such a statement. The biggest problem I have with the CEO’s statement is his word choice–”they can’t belong.” There’s a difference between “don’t right now” and “can’t.”

What about aspirers?

If A&F is truly going after the “cool kids” (no one is cool in high school. no one.), why would they also exclude those who aspire to be “cool?” Exclusionary and elitist brands [should] thrive on the fact that they are aspirational. (Again, ethics aside.)

Here’s what I mean: people who can’t afford to purchase a Mercedes or carry a Prada bag or wear designer jeans typically aspire to be able to buy all three. This is what keeps the brands in business. Once those same people who have been aspiring and admiring reach a place where they can afford these exclusive brands, they do. But apparently, according to A&F’s not-so-cool-or-attractive-in-any-way CEO, the “un-cool” kids “can’t belong.“ That kind of thinking will not work in the long run.

Do you know who pays your bills?

Additionally, A&F is a middle and high school brand. Sorry buddy, but it’s the truth. Guess who buys middle and high schoolers’ clothing? THEIR PARENTS. Usually, mothers. Guess what? A lot of mothers have birthed multiple children, nursed, undergone treatment for various illnesses, dealt with weight gain and weight loss. These “cool kids’” mothers aren’t all a size 2. *GASP*

They are beautiful, real women. And they’re angry beyond words that A&F’s CEO would be blind enough (read: a huge idiot) to make such an insensitive and blatantly oppressive statement. Check out the comments A&F is getting on their Facebook page.

Image from Facebook

Image from Facebook

Image from Facebook

I haven’t gotten this passionate about a blog post since Bic’s Lady Pens. I’d love for you to join in this conversation. Do you shop at A&F? Do your children? Will you continue to purchase clothing from the store?