The combination of #1 and #2 would be the best: #2: The footprints, the shouting from another room, the "chew here" line are fantastic. But the illustration style is too schematic, not as lively as in #1. #1. The illustration style is great. But the composition is lacking contrast: the dog is too small, whereas it should be large as in #1.
Great how they have done the transparent elements in the brief in clever ways within the illustrations. All solid designs but for me it is design 1 due to feel like will be super flexible moving forward. Great work.
#1 & #2 are very cute #3 looks like a high quality product #4 has the best meme aspect #5 is the most catchy one I can’t decide which one is my favorite
Cats know a human is just a slave. But did you know rabbits are the same? I am a designer too, and I haven't designed any of these. I voted based upon approachability. The comments to my anonymous votes (didn't want to make an account) will make you laugh, but I am very serious when I say what I say in those comments. Most of these designs are not approachable. Only the black and white design is. Yes, it is not colorful, but it makes SO MUCH SENSE compared to the others.
Absolutely love these videos and your channel! It's very interesting to see the different outcomes and thought processes stemming from the same brief 🙌🏻🔥
My vote is #1, though #2's "Chew Here" was genius. Really liked the design concept for #3 but agree that B&W looks a bit basic. I actually wasn't a fan of #4 because those memes are actually pretty outdated and I don't see it appealing to a large audience. #5 definitely did not hit the brief at all
Drop Shadow on Nick's see through tongue took it up a notch. If John added that it would have added to the realism. Joanne tag line "Oh boy your cat already knows" should have stopped there. There is minimalism in slogans too! Joanne could have also benefited from a drop shadow if it was meant to be see through.
Quite difficult to chosse 1 from all the suggested options.. though 2nd and and 4th are ones and would love to do A/B testing with consumers to check which one is performing better. Suggest you to start a fake e-commerce page where as a user we can do the fake shopping as consumers and not judge as designers to check authenticity.
the one with the packaging on the really bright yellow background is very well executed but the cat instantly gave me hitler vibes because of the way the colour looks like his haircut and the mouth :'D
Meme and premium don’t really work together. You’re not really going to get any memes with a “premium brand” through that brief. All of those brands work so well, and could see them as DTC brands on a subscription. Memes don’t always work for consumers - especially in supermarkets as the current demo for super markets is a lot older. They wouldn’t necessarily read the meme lines and understand them and you don’t buy something you don’t understand. So grading them on shelf appeal doesn’t really work here. Unless they’re a boutique shop.
I kind of disagree, I bought catvent and dogvent Christmas calendars for Spooky and my Dad’s dog Dave from a brand called Scrumbles last year and they don’t take themselves too seriously and are targeting millennials without kids (like myself and Will) who spend their money on their furry children instead, and their brand really appeals to me for that exact reason :) and they’re premium, and also in supermarkets and chains like Pets at Home - although the advent calendars I did buy online from their marketing campaign because they were too cute not to, but I first found them on the shelf :) For example, their latest IG post is about “Pawrents” and people having social media for their pets as their “momager” so although not full on meme that kind of marketing is speaking to younger pet owners :) and IMHO the one by Joanne spoke to me the most and ticked the boxes for me as well as being what I would personally buy for Spooky out of the options, and I don’t think it would put off an older person either, my Dad enjoys the occasional meme too and would totally understand the “feed me, peasant” jokey element of cats being tiny demigods/rulers - but I’m not a designer so that’s just as a consumer POV 😸
@naomipaterson9300 Yeah, and you're among the very few categories of people to whom such a product would be appealing. And that's fine, sure. Nothing wrong with aiming for a very target demographic. But considering how competitive the pet food market is, I'd have to agree with OP here... This "meme + premium" concept would be unappealing to most people. It would confuse older generations, and younger Gen Z consumers such as myself would consider it cringe/pandering. So, if you want to limit your reach to child-free milennals, it might work. But if you want to reach as many consumers as possible, this branding strategy is not ideal, in my opinion
I would argue the black and white of the cat food was brilliant, because no other pet food company uses black and white. I believe it would stand out brilliantly. Great Value did some exploration on that front a few years back and it's been very successful for them.
I used to work in a higher end pet store and I can say with some confidence that the second design you showed with the "chew here" line would sell REALLY well. All of them are excellent but that one has my vote! Your fave is my second pick but again, all really good. I love seeing these types of videos!
The embarrassing sense of pride i felt because i chose this one too! I can't really describe why but that one feels more like something that will be good for my pet. The one Will picked would be my second option, but it looked more like a snack and not an actual meal type of food for my pet, if that makes sense.
Black and white one is the only one I got premium from, the others were similar to store-brand designs ive seen, that doesnt mean they're bad at all. Logo 3 and 4 are stand outs, all others rank the same for me but still high!
What ever "Premium" is supposed to look like. I think the White one gives of some strong "expensive brand" vibes. Maybe not the standard "formal premium" kind, but definitely the "Soo cool, that I cant afford it" ones. More akin to Supreme or Air Jordan
i personally loved nick's the most! the memes on ink's feel a bit too dated and not as timeless but i love the vibe. i also love john's but it doesn't feel as premium (and i think it's more illustration-focused than holistically design focused personally)! i love all the different directions taken with interpreting the brand name!!!
Can you make a video breaking down how to request a design from the business owners point of view? What a brief should include, terminology we should know, etc.
Am I the only one completely bothered that they chose a cat product for the Doge meme? It's a really cute and lovely graphic design--but content-wise it would read a bit 'out of touch' to me as a customer. I really love the black one, and honestly I think the black and white would stand out among a sea of colors trying to grab my attention. I also think it had the best product window design and the meme-y phrases were on point for what cat lovers would gravitate towards.
It's interesting to me how contemporary packaging of this kind is usually only attempted by smaller indie companies, local brands rather than international or even inter-city-state etc ones. Instead the corporate branding for the larger, widely available products tend towards variations of the same idea, with only colour as their demarcation. Sad.
The combination of #1 and #2 would be the best: #2: The footprints, the shouting from another room, the "chew here" line are fantastic. But the illustration style is too schematic, not as lively as in #1. #1. The illustration style is great. But the composition is lacking contrast: the dog is too small, whereas it should be large as in #1.
Ink: has best meme aspect *Clever way of making it transparent *Looks both premium and playful *Cat looks memeish and memorable *Logo is nice and memorable Others are more meh generic, professional or nice maybe, but not quite there with memes, which is main outstanding point
What's always funny to me is watching graphic designers who regularly do print and flat work move to product packaging and try to bring the same things over. One of the main critiques Wil had for a couple of these was the lack of color, and how they wouldn't pop off the shelf to the eye. I think "designers" generally think that all the principles they employ work everywhere whereas a product packaging designer is doing different things and works by different rules from a print designer and from a web designer, and the thought process ends up differently. I'm not knocking any of these designs at all, believe me, but I'd love to know which of these designers are just really talented designers and which do product packaging regularly.
While I agree that the one you chose best fits what you asked for, as a consumer I'd choose the black one over the others because he comes across as a higher quality product. One thing, I thought you mentioned the product was supposed to be organic. I didn't really notice that aspect being touted as a benefit on the packaging.
I'm studying for my Associates in graphic design and this was fun to watch! very inspirational too..I'll need to check out that website, see if I can do anything there 😊
I think Ink did the best packaging design and I loved it when he used the neon bright yellow, it was really catchy style... I am also a graphic designer. I would like to participate in this type of videos with very useful content I really enjoy it ❤
I’m completely brand new to design and computers in general. I’m really trying hard though and loving it so far. I have a question though when you create a logo or design for a customer is it common to send them a recording of how you did it? Or is that just something for this contest?
We'd usually not record the process and share it with the client, it was only for the video in this case 🙂 Keep working hard, welcome to the exciting world of graphic design!
The second one caught my attention because it says "complete and balanced". If I'm buying food/treats for my dog, that's what matters the most. That's an info that I think it's missing in the other ones.
Hello Will and everyone! I'm a newbie, make some stuff in illustrator. Can you please explain me shortly, how to put a picture on something? Like on this pet food pouch? In what program can i practice this? I have even no idea how to google it! The work of these designers are amazing, btw!
Also, I know the designers have to work with whatever brief they're given, but I hate the premise to begin with (and so so many other people) The older Boomer crowd doesn't really "get" memes, and the younger Gen-Z crowd (such as myself) finds it unbearably cringe when memes exist offline. ESPECIALLY when used by brands or corporations. So this whole "premium meme pet food" is really only appealing to some millennials. And that's technically fine. There's nothing wrong with a niche product per se. But considering how competitive the pet food market is, it doesn't seem wise to potentially alienate a bulk of the pet-owning population
#4 followed directions and created what the client wanted. Though 1 and 2 was very nice it did not achieve the meme aspect of the brief which is an issue. 4 is just like "eh" similar to every other brand. 5 looks like a generic valentine chocolate packaging
When I made a design for a cat food packaging (for practice), I was afraid of having a see through packaging, because of the conservation of the food, what if it caught humidity and attracted mice ? That’s why I opted for a pic of the food, at the end. But I guess on these small poutches, you don’t have to think about conservating them for long (cause they’re finished in 5mn by the cat).
The black one! Second is the white color but if I go to the shop first though is that is a child candy. From the black one, I know from first sight that is a cat "or animal" food thing
I wish #4 would of choose a more stand out color , but def 4 ! I like that “ Oh Boy “ is on the side … it’s different and sticks out , and honestly it’s not that hard to read because it’s so BIG and BOLD ! I love illustrations , that is my style and am not even a Cat person ( At Alll ) and I still went with 4 Lmao !
Not a fan of the 'memey' approach you wanted since those 2000s pet memes are very outdated and may make the packet designs feel as though they've been made by an out-of-touch marketing team trying to appeal to younger buyers. To be honest, seeing 'over 9000% yum' on a cat food packet would really make me cringe.
We sometimes run fun competitions on the Reddit (link in description) I recently asked viewers to have a go at re-designing Ninja's new logo so I think a few people are giving that a go if you'd like to join in, that's just for fun though not money
I think memes can be a bit of a double edged sword because they can come across as comical and memorable or seem like a brand trying desperately to appeal to consumers and only feeling more distant. Pop culture is constantly changing, so memes can become irrelevant between the time of making the design and getting it on shelves. There’s a fine line between comedic and cringey when it comes to meme branding. That being said I fell in love with the first design, I think that sort of style always catches my eye. It was silly but not over done, and there’s nothing about an animal breaking a vase that can age poorly.
I would buy the black and white design. Absolutely favourite, elegant, aesthetically pleasing, funny, right on point and you can clearly see whats inside❤
I would've *ONLY* bought the black and white one. The rest of them are so cartoony and colorful that they instantly remind me of treats....not actual food! So if I'm shopping for premium food, the last thing I'm gonna grab is something reminiscent of Beggin Strips or Temptations
> The B&W is cool and would be seen. I love the little illustrative touches mixed with photography and the food showing through. I would buy that and give it a try... if it was dog food or dog treats! > I like the one with the dirty paws... except it should be four toes. > Meme look has been overdone to death and doesn't say quality product to me. (I did like the food showing through the cat belly though. The reason you think cats are easier to work with in design - is because you're a cat person.
Hi will great vid as always - when it comes to creating a cohesive brand identity, do you think it’s best to design the logo and the packaging simultaneously? Rather than creating the logo, getting set on the design, and limiting what the packaging could become as it is restricted by the logo? Many thanks
