Recycling turns to limited edition

Oh wow, this shows the use for recycle! Well not in it's true sense, but still!

Klein Constantia didn’t know what to do with the grape skins that were left over from the production of their award winning wines. In the past they had fed the skins to their cows, but they decided to produce a limited edition grappa, as a gift to the people that were important to their business. 

Because the Grappa wasn’t intended for sale, Klein Constantia proposed a “half-jack” bottle with a screw cap, but eventually was able to source 4000 beautiful bottles with a unique porcelain wire stopper. It wasn’t the type of bottle Grappa was usually sold in, since it wouldn’t have to compete with other products in the category, instead it felt unique and special. And of course this made everyone happy.

Oh and if you're wondering about the cow illustration at the bottom... well he wasn't as happy as the rest.

Wake up and smell the coffee!

Who doesn't like coffee? Well, I don't!  But that doesn't stop me from looking at (and buying) beautiful coffee packaging. It might seem absurd to some of you, but when it comes to packaging, I really do not mind what's on the inside as long as I get to display the package on my bookshelf. And maybe one daywhen I'm not studying anymore, there will be a room in my house where all of these boxes, bags and bottles will live together in perfect harmony.  And no, just incase you're wondering, I'm not a hoarder, just a packaging fanatic!

So here's what you might have missed last month on Shelf Life (sorry for the long quiet period)

A renewed love for craft beer packaging!

So even though my beer celebration month is long gone and maybe forgotten for some of you, I've just enjoyed a new bunch of beer packaging inspiration from The Dieline, and I just can't hold my excitement in so I decided to share a few of them with you today.

Cheers!

Thorsteinn Beer Brand

GOODNESS gracious! What a fresh approach to label design! Here's what the creators had to say:

"This beer brand concept was born on a sunday night at school were we were supposed to make a brand for a micro-brewery. The name is traditional Icelandic name that could be loosely translated into "thirsty one".

The concept is to have one beer, 10 different bottle designs by 10 different designers. The design would be changed annually and could be put on beer glasses as well.

We decided on making versatile design but limit it down to a single color graphics. Our approach was different, but we all shared the same ideology about breaking out of the ordinary and making graphics that aren´t exactly typical for beer bottle labeling. The concept also makes the brand a platform for other graphic designers to show off their own design for design`s sake."
Thorleifur Gunnar Gíslason, Geir Olafsson and Hlynur Ingolfsson, Iceland.

Binche beer

Finally a beer with a feminine touch! I'm loving this

Binche beer is a new premium Belgian beer. What is binche? Binche is a name of the town in Belgium that was famous of their lace. The main target market of this beer are woman and we see that through the lace designs around the bottle. The look of the package is modern but traditional as well.

Still a student work but it's still remarkable.

St. Stefanus

I'm certainly not one for tradition and traditional ways . But if I have to admit,  St. Stefanus beer is something I would surely buy if ever I get my hands on one.

When you look at the label created by Brandhouse for St. Stefanus, you are seeing history. In fact you are seeing almost 700 years of beer brewing tradition, dating back to the Augustijn monks who originated the recipe. Some elements of the font used on the bottle and label even come from songbooks found in the Augustijn’s monastery library.

Hope you like it! 

Swing Mikrobrewery

Here's one to catch your eye.

Breaking away from a western approach to branding, graphic design student, Simon Langlois created packaging with a different style than the ordinary beer on the shelf.

This limited edition is produced and used exclusively during the launch party of the Swing brewery. The label is composed of strips of different coloured birch that criss-cross to represent the blend of cultures that make up Quebec’s identity today.

This Quebec vernacular typography was used for the logo of the Swing brewery. The shapes of the letters were inspired by Native American petroglyphs considering many Quebecois identity symbols are borrowed from Native American culture. (The racket sinew, bark canoes, fur, etc.)Native American petroglyphs illustrate these concepts and elements of natureas the Amerindian language was primarily oral. We can observe a river (s), spruce (i), etc.
within the logo.

The information was printed on a label then attached by a braided twine made up using the traditional colors of Quebec’s arrow belt.

This is May

And before I knew it, May is on our doorstep! In April and May, we covered a whole lot of alcohol, and you might be wondering where's the wine category? Well, I will be covering that part later on , maybe in October.  I decided to split up the alcohol packaging to get a better variety throughout the year.

So this month I am covering beer! All amazing beer packaging you might have seen , you are more than welcome to share your experiences with me.  We will be looking also to limited edition craft beer and how alcohol packaging can create a differentiation to other brand.

I hope you are excited! For a more constant and daily feed, try visiting Shelf Life's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelf-Life/512037942168145 

Sexy Tina milky vodka

This one will make you smile. Sexy Tina milky vodka was designed by the russian designer Pavel Gubin.

A few months ago, Bakon Vodka was revealed and now we are presented with “milky vodka” in a breast shaped bottle. Milky because it’s supposed to be some kind of Irish Cream, but the pun is too obvious to be missed.

Enjaka cocktail mix

I believe this is an exceptionally bright idea.  Enjaka Cocktail mix was inspired by the different chemicals, where various elements can be mixed together to create something unique. This allows you to play with your drinks, and to buy different substances to suite your own preferences!
The concept is that you can be your own barman, and to interact with different cocktail combinations.

"The bottles have a circular design with a bottom plug and a top cap so they can be attached to each other and thus motivate you interact and play with them. All ingredients in our formula are divided into 3 types of bottles of different sizes:

Base (400ml) The livelihood of the cocktail, juice and the main flavor of our mix.

Spirit (300ml) The soul of the mixture, the alcoholic beverage of our choosing.

Touch (200ml) The delicate endpoint that provides an authentic and distinguished flavour to the mix." Designed by Tatabi Studio, Dublin, Ireland. 

This could be so much fun!

SKYY Blue Velvet Vodka

And this is finally April! And there's a lot to cover with spirit and liquor packaging on our list. Let's start off with the SKYY Vodka Blue Velvet limited edition bottle.  These guys truly did something ground breaking for packaging design!

This design blends the world of high fashion with spirits, using the baroque themed pattern with a tangible element of soft blue velvet which invites you, the consumer, to touch and feel.

“We incorporated the baroque pattern into the design because over a year ago when we began the process we felt strongly about velvet baroque patterns to connote style and elegance. However, it had never been done before so we had to innovate the technique. Fast forward to launch time for the SKYY holiday bottle, and baroque the biggest trend at all the fashion shows. So while we were planning our bottle, the big fashion houses were thinking the same thing with their clothing lines. Most of the major designers are integrating baroque details into their collections. Adding the velvet texture to the bottle made it sexy, touchable and holiday-appropriate, and fortunately, on-trend.” Says MDG Creative Director Gabrielle Rein.


It would be a great addition to my packaging collection, if only I can find one somewhere, they are so rare!

Amy's Ice Cream

It's quite difficult to find quality ice cream packaging out there! Phew. But this is what I discovered. and I believe it's worth mentioning.

Amy’s Ice Cream is a boutique ice cream shop with seven locations around Austin, Texas.  The designers for this Ice Cream were Eric Timmerman, Hector Guerra and Misa Valenzuela.  I believe they did a great job, but not so convinced with the Choc Crunch tub.  Compared to the rest it's seems a bit forgotten and left behind. But putting that though beside for just a minute, it's a great eye catching look for ice cream overall.  I would certainly buy it the moment I lay eyes on them! Compared to other ice cream brands, this is seriously an improvement!