ANM 324 Project 4
Creating a label requires a broad range of illustration and design skills.  These are small works of marketing art that, if successful, demand attention and help sell the product they represent.

Here’s my general grading criteria for this project:

95-100- Label is complete and artwork is challenging.  It has excellent shelf appeal and demonstrated clear command of the Illustrator toolset.  The label is a work of art!

90-95-Lable is very well done but there are some minor flaws in concept or execution. Type styling may not resonate with the content or theme of the product or you may have created a less than spectacular composition of image and text.

85-89-Label is good but may not completely communicate the essence of the product in either type resonance or design elements

80-85-Label has obvious technical and design issues that will prevent it from having good shelf appeal.  Type doesn’t fit or image is too complex to be clearly understood by shoppers.

70-80-Label is not effective is communicating the essence of the product and major requirements are missing.  There are significant technical flaws.

70-below very late work

Note: Late work will be downgraded by 10 pts and the lack of group critique will result in a 5 pt deduction.

Late -10

No Group Critique -5

Missing original label or design rational -5 each

Frazier Group

Courtney Allred-Your revision of the HY-TOP Tomato Sauce is definitely more visually appealing. The fresh tomato is much more interesting than the questionable bowl of dark sauce. At first I was going to suggest some leaves rather than the curly vines but there’s no question that the focus is the tomato and the vines just add some highlights. Your papyrus font choice is excellent. Both the front label and the nutrition information is very precisely composed with consistent colors. Overall I’d say your redo is very successful and you’ve achieved your goal of enhanced consumer appeal.

Ramona Pinto-You definitely had some fun with all those peas! At a glance it’s clear that the new label has significantly more appeal in terms of color and brand awareness. Although it’s clear that these are peas, I wish you had applied a gradient to them to show their roundness. The cast shadows add depth but the pod itself would be more interesting if those peas were more obviously round. The nutrition and product information is complete but lines under the items make it easier to read across. I think this might even be a federal packaging requirement so shoppers can clearly understand nutrition percentages. I would definitely grab this can over the original!

Yekaterina Skryagina-You didn’t include the original and your rational for the redesign so it’s more difficult to compare. The pattern of the Holstein cow is easily recognizable as a milk product and has a friendly “vibe”. The logo for HY-TOP is very readable but the Condensed Milk caption across the top is a bit harder to read as it crosses over the white and black areas. There are some options; you could increase the stroke to add contrast, make the letters a solid fill or strategically place the name over a black spot where it reads best. Your nutrition and upc information is excellent!

Joanne Tien-The new colors and pattern in your redo of the Arizona Tea is very attractive. It definitely has a southwest look with the geometric pattern. You chose to use images for your strawberry and kiwi…it would have been fun to see these done with vectors…I know your goal was to have better looking fruit and vector are is much more challenging for rendering these objects. One thing to consider is the view the customer has of a product on the shelf. Your layout is much more effective if you can see the name along with the flavor and art. Putting your design on a can would leave only part of the design visible. Container art is generally composed so that all the key elements are in view when displayed. Your nutrition and upc look great.

Regina Zerne-Your sardine can was one of the most creative redesigns in the class. I appreciated your reasoning for the design and like how it maintains some of the elements of the original like the stripes from the lighthouse. While I think most shoppers would understand that the product is sardines, it’s fun to see the fish stacked inside…one thing to consider is that someone will complain if the squished sardines inside don’t look like the picture on the front….OK, that’s why companies have lawyers. This doesn’t bother me…I love sardines and would likely pick this out among competitors just because the can is cool looking. Your choice of font is excellent..the style is friendly, inviting and easy to read. Good job with the info on the back.

Rosenwald Group

Carla Barrett
-
You are right in saying the meat on the label could be confused with dog food. Savory foods are difficult to illustrate clearly and in an appetizing style..I think your idea of leaving it up to the customer to imagine what’s in the can based on the description and positive look is a good way to go. The color palette is appealing and your choice of fonts combine to make a very effective design. I like the “Ready To Eat” and “Made in USA” (two very important features for shoppers) but I might consider not putting them in the stars and instead put them in the red band across the front. Why? If you cover the stars you’ll see the strength of the overall design increase…this is because it’s simplified and the hierarchy of the cow and Hereford name really become stronger. In design, less is more. The font for Hereford with the ribbon (must have won it at the state cow fair) is excellent. Nutrition and ingredient info is also excellent. Nice work!

Samantha Hafner-You said you really go into this project and it clearly shows! Your Keurig coffee maker looks great. I'm very impressed with your vector drawing skills. The only thing I would suggest is to turn off the visibility of the photo of the coffee maker to remove the shadow and the other brands of cups. Those extra cups are under the 12 K-cup text and make it less readable than is should be. Overall your package is much more focused on the fact that it’s used with the Keurig machine. The text on the side panel is very clear and readable. That’s pretty cool that you work for Starbucks. Maybe some day you’ll be at their headquarters doing their graphic design and bring your idea to life! Excellent work!

Andrew Mrowka
-
Your redesign of the mixed berry cereal bars was certainly dramatic. You are definitely correct is appealing to the kids riding in the shopping cart and screaming that they want the Spongebob Bars. You definitely had fun and perhaps took some inspiration from your childhood and those cool boxes of cereal with the games to read and play while you ate. I appreciate the creativity. I think the back is stronger than the front because it’s simplified…easier to “read’ at a glance. I think the front would benefit from some simplification..do you need two Spongebob figures? I also think the banners are a bit too much. It’s an important skill to learn what to take away…keep it simple. What’s important in this label is that shoppers can see what they are getting at a glance. Mixed Berry Cereal Bars should have clear hierarchy with an even larger font. I guess the UP & UP is part of the brand identity to signify growing up with these healthy foods so it’s important that this stands out too. The nutrition info is clear and readable..parents will check that out too. You have some very creative work here.

Natallia Ramaniuk-Your new composition for the label is very similar (layout) to the original but it’s much more engaging and clear. I really like what you’ve done with the tomato and sardine…excellent vector drawing really brings these key ingredients to life. I would definitely select this product off the shelf in comparison to the competition. The color palette is inviting and the font styles are clear and readable. There’s a lot of content on the back of the label and you’ve done an excellent job of composing it into a very readable format. This label makes me hungry for some of those sardines! Excellent work!

Joseph Staron-Olive oils are a hugely popular product and competing with all those brands is vitally important.
Your rational for the redesign is solid…yes it can use more color and energy. The yellow pattern and giant olive do help. My first impression was that it’s not likely that red pimentos would be ground-up to make the oil but you addressed this in your statement. It does add color. I really like the drop of oil in the background but I think it might be more effective without the yellow in the pattern…did you consider this? I think the small green pattern could even be an olive leaf (you can make these in Illustrator). This is just a thought and might further enhance the overall visual strength of the label. Back of label is missing the UPC.

Kroencke Group

Jessica Beckett
-I’m sorry I missed getting your label in the gallery earlier in the week…hopefully you still received some group feedback. I’ve never heard of Annie’s Homegrown cookies but they are certainly fun and would be very appealing to shoppers with their kids in the cart! Your addition of the bunnies hopping out of the basket is very playful. I do like your vector cover art. It balances nicely with the Annie’s brand name. I do think the Bunny Cookies is rather small…seems to me it might be hard to “get it” at a glance. I realize this might be among other cookies but I think it could be clearer at a glance. The same goes for Cocoa and Vanilla…they are very small. I realize you are kind of naming the bunnies to reflect the content..but words need to be larger. The backside has an important story to tell about how the product is made but the flow does not appear to be as cohesive as it could be..I love the bunnies with bites out of them, poor cocoa and vanilla! Rather than use the type effects at the top , I would suggest keeping the fonts simple and unmodified…and arrange with the bunnies above into a more easily read and informative composition. If you look at the original you’ll se at stronger “flow” of information. Your work on this definitely shows creativity! Nutrition facts are excellent.

Scott Ewalt-Hey, I could use one of these right now! I take it you are familiar with 5 Hour Energy? My first impression is that there is not a lot of change from the original…OK, I see the larger runner and the gear shape, along with rearranged type. You stated that you wanted to bring out the berry flavor in the look. It seems to me that you could have gone further to a brighter blue/red
to really differentiate it from the original. Not trying to be too critical because what you’ve done is very effective and all that type in the supplements, instructions and cautions is very impressive…wow, very nice work with all that typography.

Renee Thompson-Your Garlic label evolved very nicely. I think the changes you made from the preliminary design are very effective. I especially like your garlic clove and spoon of minced garlic, which are very clear and appetizing. The label is much more sophisticated and would appeal to a wide range of shoppers and cooks. The color palette and fonts all contribute to a very strong design. Nutrition info, upc and misc data are excellent. One of the most complete and visually effective redesigns. Nice work!

Sarah Wall
-

I love artichokes and your bright green globe makes me want to fix them for dinner! You’ve done an excellent job of rendering the artichoke with very realistic gradients. I also like the font you chose for the name…it’s kind of edgy and would, I think, appeal to the modern cook looking for these gems. The nutrition facts should have lines and be tabbed for easier reading. You did not include the original label and rational for the design. We’d like to see this so we can appreciate the redo!

Anita Kunz Group

Amy Pearson-Your dripping peanut butter did get some feedback in the discussion board. I personally like the creative touch. It would definitely get the attention of the kids along for the shopping trip. To me it really relates to the gooey drips that peanut butter often delivers. I think it might be more visible with greater contrast over the Jif name. Did you try it with white letters? It’s bit subdued as is and might not have the visual “Wow factor” on the shelf with competitors. Excellent job with all the content on the back. Very creative…I like a lot! Wish you had included your reasoning for the design for all to appreciate.

Sahista Shobna-Great Value labels are known for their bland but easily recognizable logo and layout. They are typically bargains compared to the name brands. Your redo of the Strawberry preserves definitely make this product more attractive. I especially like the berry (is it a little dark) and those beautiful leaves and blossom. I mentioned color because I think the “strawberry red” could be effective both as the fruit color and as the color in the name…we want our shoppers to gravitate to our product. There’s lots of content in your nutrition fact and ingredients. It looks like you had some trouble with the tabular formatting. It’s a very powerful feature in Illustrator that can save a lot of time and results in very readable content.

Margaret Temple-Your reasoning for the redo of the Riverton Valley dressing is clear and makes marketing sense. What could be more homey and appealing than that fresh river running through a valley of veggies? The western style wood sign is also comforting and a bit nostalgic. The hierarchy on the front is shifted more to the veggies than the name and Ranch style. I think the brand and Ranch should be larger…the scale on the back is more effective. I would also consider not as drastic a warp on Ranch…it’s almost hard to read at a glance. The backside info is complete but the formatting is not very precise and, as a result, a bit hard to read. Use the tab function in the type tools to make this styling easy and professional looking.

Brittany Williams-You’ve taken this project to a very creative level by rebranding the Pictsweet veggies as fun and healthy for kids. I think this is a winning idea! I’m not familiar with any brands that are targeting their prospective audience this way. OK it’s good marketing but it also has the potential to introduce a line of vegetables to kids who might not otherwise try them. That’s cool! Your layout is highlighted by clear visual hierarchy with the asparagus character.
There’s also a strong visual flow to the brand name, paintbrush and family enjoying the product…the idea of painting with those spears is very creative. Who cleans up the mess? The content on the back is beautifully organized for easy reading. Wow…great idea and a wonderful label.