People over here in Europe are getting ready to change their light bulbs at home due to a decision taken in the European Union a couple of years ago. This has triggered an earthquake of ideas on how to repackaging this old product that haven’t really seen inside of a designers room the last 50 years (or at least it feels that way).

This is more or less what the industry has offered us the last 50 years

Sometime last year I noticed that this business is on the move. As I was shopping bulbs it struck me that good shit is happening inside the hardware store on the light bulb shelf. What the light bulb industry is going through is a great inspiration for any business lost in history and it shows that once you get that ball rolling things will happen fast.

Here are 10 light bulb packaging concepts that leads this industry forward

Sweet and Informative from Greenlite found on Aaron Skippers blog.

I just love this one by Mongkol Praneenit found on Definite Touch

Lindey Cull does summer and autumn packaging

A wonderful packaging concept by Sasha Grishin

Kevin Kwok wraps up some bulbs in this concept found on Kitsune Noir

Yet another concept that shows the business is on a move. By Elbert Miller.

Embody3D posted this one. Simple yet inspiring.

Not all of them are square! Lemnis found on Meldel stands on solid ground

Emotional yet simple design from Anke Weiss found on Treehugger

Finally this packaging from Sprout found on Flickr serves as my last example

So there you are. These guys are from the stone age and they did it. What’s stopping you to revamp your brand?

(Also – one could post yet another solely on the actuall bulbs. But no time for that right now

Those are the words the packaging of your product should whisper over and over and over again. The customers immediate response should of course be – I want to live the rest of my life with you no matter if it will make me go bankrupt!

This is exactly what Soon Mo Kang’s Tea Bag packaging does. In fact I think once you’ve taken this little beauty home the first person that comes for a cup of tea will steal it. Now there’s a brief for ya – “My product should be so well designed so my customers have people stealing it from them”

On top of the sheer beauty of it it also keeps your tea bag from sinking to the bottom of your cup. Also what we should expect from products in the future – everything communicates. I love it.

As often before SwissMiss beamed it to me.

I‘ve spent some time this evening browsing my favorite packaging site The Dieline. That’s when I suddenly realized I should blog about packaging today.

When I speak about creativity and innovation and how it must be a part of every interaction (especially packaging) you have with your customers one of the most common replies I get is: “How can I make use of what you say in my business. We don’t have a sexy product”. Wrong question!

Today no one, no matter what kind of product you market, can overlook the fact that your customers lead a stressed life. People want to be entertained. We want drama. We want smiles. We want to feel. Everything is about entertainment and drama! Brand owners – inject emotion into your products or eject yourselves from your position!

The one question you should ask yourselves when it comes to packaging is: “Does my packaging make people smile”

Here are 10 brands that obviously have understood that you can make something out of anything.

1. Rellana Wool – Making Yarn Come Alive

This wonderful wool packaging concept called Wolly Heads was made by Ogilvy Frankfurt- It’s one of my absolute favorites. They’ve turned something very ordinary into something not so ordinary. This stuff makes me wanna learn how to knit stuff.

2. Clarence Court – I’d Rather Have Some Eggs

When you think of egg you think of…ehh…eggs. That’s until someone comes along and makes you think different. That’s exactly what UK based design agency Simmer makes you do with this wonderful concept for Clarence Court. One Goose, two Duck, two Pheasant and three Quail eggs. Makes you wanna make an omelette faster than you can say cheese huh?

3. Dumpling Dynasty Sewing Kit – I Can’t Resist It

You probably have a set stuffed away in a drawer somewhere at home – a sewing kit. Doesn’t ring any emotional bells in your belly huh? Well, then imagine when you walk around in the shop and then suddenly feast your eyes on this little beauty. Sewing Kit reinvented huh! Illustrator Fiona Hewitt knows how to kick ass obviously! ps. If you like it a lot. Then you can shop it here.

4. Pregnadel – I Wish I Was Pregnant!

Here’s a packaging concept by a design student named Sergii Llin that clearly shows you what it’s about. “The goal was to develop packaging that will be noticeable on the pharmacy shelf, self-illustrative, and have a bit of social message, kind of ‘Think before you do”

Extremely smart – a packaging that even acts socially responsible. To bad it’s not made for a real drug.

5. Prism London – I Can’t Believe My Eyes

There’s a design agency called Sabotage. It’s obvious why they’re called that cause when they get their hands on something they obviously destroy the competition with excellent pieces of packaging. This crystal-like eye case is no exception. It’ll crack the competition and make customers spend money they don’t have.

6. Bolt Barbers Shaving Cream – Getting A Shave Have Never Been Cooler Than This

Shaving cream. The pure sound of those two words make you wanna go to sleep. The section in which you find these products have looked the same the last 15 years. And then something happens. Perspective Branding decided to bring the cool to the cooling products. Simple yet smart and differentiated from the rest.

7. Perricone MD – The Kind Of Medication I Need

In the United States there’s a doctor called Perricone. He’s sort of guru dermatologist to the stars and his brand Perricone MD have enjoyed extensive media coverage on Oprah, PBS, Larry King and in Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New York Times. Well, when you see the packaging made by California based design agency Concrete you suddenly understand why.

8. Lemon Powder – It’s Not As Sour As It Sounds

Estudio Clara Ezcurra. You can almost hear that this agency create stuff that makes you go wow. Lemon Powder – Most design agencies wouldn’t touch that stuff. But these guys from Argentina turned makes it poke your eyes when you pass the product.

9. Ecolean Lightweight Packaging – Proud To Be A Swede

Wonderful! This new packaging concept called ‘Ecolean’ really blows my mind. It’s super thin. Minimum waste. Yet it’s stunningly beautiful. It makes people think environment. When you’ve consumed what’s inside you can throw away what left with a clear conscience. On top of all this it’s also a Swedish product. And since I’m from Sweden it makes me all warm inside. Here’s a video telling you more about the concept.

10. Bar Codes – It’s All In The Details

Last but not least. When you’re done revamping your packaging. Don’t stop there! There’s still room for more innovation. The bar codes for example – what can you do with them? If you lack imagination – give D-Barcode, the designers behinds these sweet set of japanese bar codes, a call.

The Matsu’s wine triology, ‘El Pícaro’, ‘El Recio’ and ‘El Viejo’

Today on TheDieline I ran into the company ‘Vintae Luxury Wine Specialists’. Vintae is Spanish based company that specialize in top of the range and luxury wines.

Not only do they have a great wine portfolio. Together with Spanish agency Moruba, they’ve designed some wonderful bottles to stack in your cellar.

The Winery Arts collection revolves around the number 9, considered by many cultures as the supreme number of knowledge

When a company understands the value of differentiation, simplicity and creativity like Vintae, I can’t do anything but run to the wine shop and empty my savings account. This is the shit you wanna put on your table!

Ran into this beauty of a logotype when I was browsing FFFFound today. Innovation in it’s simplest form.

I criticized the jungle branded company a couple of days ago because of their new shopping experience. Now I’m going to send them of on a rocket to my 7th heaven. This video shows a new feature that they are implementing on their big sellers – the Amazon Frustration Free Packaging. Wow. That’s all I can say.

Having two daughters myself I’ve wondered many times how brands like Fisher Price, Mattel, Lego and others get away with packaging that first and foremost is impossible to open. Damn, I’m getting beaten to death by my kids on their birthdays because of the time it takes to open and mount their toys. Secondly – animals of all kinds knock on my door right after I carry out the trash – I almost got picked to death by a woodpecker the other day. If I survive the day then I’m left with soar hands and a feeling of destroying the earth with debris.

Amazon tackles this problem in a beautiful way. The Amazon Frustration Free Packaging will brand them. It’ll make their customers their best friends. Basically it’s packaging serving as brand communication. On top of it all they’ve created a community like page called The Gallery Wrap Rage where people can upload their own frustrating packaging problems. Sweet.

One thing though…They didn’t make it possible to embed the movie on your own site. That was easily solved with ScreenFlow and YouTube though.

Finally, thanks Nina Åkestam for enlightening me.

Tap’d water is this new tapped water on bottle from New York. It’s basically water straight from the tap, poured into a wonderfully designed bottle and sold on the streets in NY. The people behind this product must be marketing geniuses. Read this statement taken from their website:

“New Yorkers are known for having great taste, and our water is no exception. It’s the stuff of legends (or at least urban legends.) In taste tests against fancy glacial, spring and exotic waters, NYC tap water wins hands down. We’re proud of the source of our water and will help all New Yorkers be proud to drink their own water. Not only will we spare the Arctic glaciers, we’ll help create local jobs and support New York businesses and infrastructure.”

On top of advertising like above Tap’d has got a manifesto that clearly communicates their point of view. Here’s a short piece from it: 

“Year after year, bottled water companies have told us that their water was somehow healthier or better for us than our own water. They spent billions of dollars on marketing to make us believe that we needed exotic water, in sleek packaging, from far away Arctic glaciers, tropical islands, and European volcanoes. We fell for the fancy marketing gimmicks, too, and the brands we drank started to become status symbols. But we’re New Yorkers and are ready for an honest change.  It’s time for a better way of thinking, er, drinking:  A Tap’dNY Manifesto for the new age.”

Well, if that isn’t a clear positioning. It’s a school example of how you pick an enemy, make sure your weapons are loaded and then give’em all you got. Well, Tap’d is not far from winning me over. But…there’s always a but…

In Sweden people have been arguing if it’s smart to drink water on the bottle since our water basically is cleaner than the stuff we get from different brands. However, here in Sweden the different brands tell us their water is tapped from 100 year old wells. It’s good for you, it makes you stronger, it’s cleaner etc etc etc. 

Why the hell do we need to go and buy a bottle of ordinary non-carbonated water that has been transported by trucks all over Sweden and Europe when the water we can drink on the toilette is probably as clean, as good and in a lot of cases tastes better. So, now it seems I’m almost agreeing on the point Tap’d is trying to make.

My standpoint: If Tap’d are bragging how they’ve tapped the water of New York. Why the hell do they need to tap it? You still need a factory, plastic bottles, warehouse, trucks to ship it (through the traffic jams of NY) and take care of the waste. Do you really care about the New Yorkers or do you care about the New Yorkers money? 

Well, your great communication platform, your packaging and advertising almost had me.

I liked the first five years better. But here it is. The 2008 Blueberry Glögg from Blossa by BVD.