Posted by Ryan Clark | Filed under Advertising, Bum Out, Design, The Way It Was, Vintage
I had the idea a while back to post about the perils of modern design, specifically in regard to rebranding, the evolution of a particular design and things of that nature. I’ve decided to finally pull the trigger and go for it. As my brother has begun posting a series dedicated to our grandfather, I thought this might be the right time. After all… the time period in which our grandfather was designing will often be the era in which my postings will refer to.
“The Way It Was” will be a study (and occasional pseudo-rant) about a particular design of the past, and a directly (or at least somewhat) related piece from recent years.
TWIW #001 is based on an email conversation I had with a few like-minded friends a couple of years ago. The subject in this case is a box of Trix cereal. Target had announced that it was re-issuing old General Mills cereal box designs for a limited time, (God bless design-savvy corporations) and in being reminded of that classic old box design, I couldn’t help but dissect the modern design and suppose what it’s trying to tell today’s consumer. Here are my thoughts:
1. The logo, once simple and bold, is now 3-dimensional, has a white stroke, yellow bevel, and emboss. ALL of which have gradients. Somehow this “pops” more.
2. Since brand loyalty is dead, the nice big General Mills logo at the top of the box (which I’m sure used to assure people of the reliability and integrity of the product) is replaced by a very small GM logo, overpowered by a “whole grain guarantee” and a list of other nutritional values. Not that nutrition is anything to shrug at, but let’s be real- this is Trix.
3. The cereal itself isn’t enough anymore, so there has to be added incentive to buy. In this case, there’s an ad for “fruitalicious” games on the back of the box.
4. The fun-loving bunny on cute roller skates is replaced by (honestly) what seems to be an INSANE rabbit, literally throwing Trix at you.
5. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the modern box has a disclaimer sentence that reads something like “cereal shown not actual size,” because people are so stupid (or assumed to be so stupid) that they can’t comprehend that the 1″ macro-lens-photographed meteor puffs on the front of the box are bigger than they actually are.
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August 19th, 2010
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Furniture, Home, Just Plain Bad Ass, Vintage
Apartment Therapy just posted an article about an antique store called Hunt & Gather in Minneapolis, MN. I’m currently searching for airfare as we speak.
Not really, but this looks like some sort of paradise.
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October 16th, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Furniture, Home, Modern, Vintage, Web Goods
Bookmark time! Apartment Therapy just posted an article featuring the ‘Top Ten’ online shops for vintage furniture and accessories. Now you know what to do this weekend.
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October 10th, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Design, Music, Packaging, Vintage, Web Goods
Fact #1: Reid Miles is a personal design hero of mine (as evident in my approach for Chris Cornell’s Carry On album).
Fact #2: Japanese website Vintage Vanguard just made my year.
Via Drawn!
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October 10th, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Architecture, Modern, Vintage
You’ll never look at gas stations the same again. Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van der Rohe, Arne Jacobsen … I had no idea they also contributed epic work to the world of auto fuel. I am guessing it was a tad cheaper by the gallon back then, no?
Thanks Frank.
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October 2nd, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Gadgets, Just Plain Bad Ass, Metal, New Stuff, Toys, Vintage
I am loving Nerdbots (and their site) – and may just have to pick one up.
“Oddly obsessed with all things robot, married couple Nicholas and Angela from Kansas City, Missouri, decided on a whim one day to do nothing other than to build one themselves.”
I’m starting to feel partial to Drip, but Beamer looks like he may need a hug …
Via Yewknee
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October 1st, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Design, Modern, Vintage, Web Goods
Congratulations to Grain Edit for turning 1! One of my favorite sites on the interweb is throwing a big birthday bash, offering giveaways from some pretty stinking amazing artists. Grab a slice of cake and enter to win!
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September 30th, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Architecture, Furniture, Home, Modern, Vintage
Loving Anna Weiss’ home AND blog!
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September 24th, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Architecture, Furniture, Illustration, Vintage
Loving these illustrated vintage kitchen ads over at the See Saw blog.
Via Mid-Century Modernist
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September 9th, 2008
Posted by Don Clark | Filed under Architecture, Furniture, Modern, Toys, Vintage
While we were on tour last month, we had a chance to walk around Fullerton in So Cal and hit some of the cool vintage and music shops. We stumbled upon Otto, which was by far my favorite. Full of mid-century goodness of all kinds, it was hard for me to walk out of there without emptying the bank. I did however manage to score some Gama-Go goods and a miniature LCW to match my life-size version. Score.
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July 24th, 2008