

Minimalist renditions of international brands - jbr
http://www.dezeen.com/2010/12/22/minimalist-effect-in-the-maximalist-market-by-antrepo/

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quizbiz
I think the Corn Flakes example
([http://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/12/dzn_Minimalist-
Effe...](http://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/12/dzn_Minimalist-Effect-in-
the-Maximalist-Market-by-Antrepo-7.jpg)) is a good example of how this
approach of minimalism for grocery type consumer products does a lot of
damage.

Yes, across the board we still know what the product is but the feelings and
the senses of the brand are gone. The Corn Flakes doesn't look like a yummy
breakfast anymore. It might as well be the cover of a super hero mag. As
already mentioned, the product is no longer unique. It might as well be the
store brand.

This isn't effective brand minimalism (in my naive opinion). It's packaging
minimalism (minimizing printing costs).

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dtf
Maybe the reason the Nesquik box is bright yellow and has a colourful cartoon
character on it is that kids in the supermarket who might not be able to read
or differentiate Arial from Helvetica can still recognise, point to and
blackmail their parent with tears to grab the box with Nesquik bunny which
they've seen on the TV. This seems to be design in a vacuum.

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marcusbooster
This is a pretty lazy foray into minimalism. It should be about breaking the
product down to it's most basic components, not just removing the background
layers of a psd.

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CognitiveLens
Isn't it more of a design exercise that shows how removing background layers
of a psd affects brand/product impressions? It's a thought experiment, not a
marketing pitch - using a very simple idea to show some interesting variations
on brand image.

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Zev
Removing any image and leaving text isn't much of an experiment, let alone
exploration of minimalism.

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jbr
I'm most impressed with how progressively "upmarket" they become. You could
charge multiples more for the minimal version in a different context.

As muji [1] is to a department store, the appropriate store for these would be
to a supermarket.

I'm also reminded of the quote "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" (da
vinci?)

[1] <http://muji.us>

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haribilalic
The food packaging loses a lot of meaning. The original Nutella, Nesquick,
Toffifee, Corn Flakes, Lindt and Pringles packaging all show what's inside or
a "serving suggestion". If I didn't already know what the product was, it'd be
a lot tougher to know what I was buying.

The same applies for the Durex packaging. I assume that Durex Select condoms
are fruit flavoured or scented, because there's fruit on the box. I can't make
that assumption with the "minimalist" packaging.

I think they do look good, but design isn't a synonym for modernist
aesthetics; it has a goal and I don't think the goal is being met by these.

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CognitiveLens
I agree that if you didn't know what the product was, the minimalist designs
would not work, but I get the impression the designers chose these brands
because they were already widely known (in some places, anyway) - once you've
established that you make X, and people associate X with you, there's no
longer a need for a serving suggestion.

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stavrianos
These look really good on a solid black background. On a supermarket shelf
with hundreds more, some would be downright eerie. Solid red wall of cereal
boxes.

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weego
This is more accurately reductivism/reductionism, there is no requirement for
there to be "less" when dealing with minimalism and that was never the goal of
artists who followed that school.

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nchlswu
Reminds me of the "No Name" Brand in Canada (maybe local to certain provinces;
Google Images: tiny.cc/nonamepics). It's interesting because the brand has
purposely gone minimal. It's easily distinguishable treatment and lack of loud
elements actually make them much more distinguishable in supermarkets.

Despite what some have said, I think in general these are done fairly well.
Some are great, some are worse, but overall it's decent.

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fleitz
No Name also heavily competes on price. You have to look very closely when
dealing with No Name, for instance No Name veg is frequently Grade B instead
of Grade A. I'm not sure how CFIA grades veg but I noticed that the No Name
peas I bought tasted like crap and upon further inspection I saw they were
Grade B.

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djacobs
I can't imagine being able to visually distinguish products in a grocery store
selling these pared-down brands.

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norswap
While I'm really into minimalism, the minimalist packaging doesn't appeal to
me, simply because it looks like "white brands". I don't know if that's used
in English, so I'll give an explanation : a "white brand product" is a product
which mimics a better know product but which is priced much lower and, most
often, is of much worse quality. It may be conditioning, but it doesn't change
the fact that I wouldn't buy the product.

This sentiment is also expressed by the first commenter on the page :

"dutch supermarkets did it with their low budget labels and that was the
reason i came home with two pakages of strawberry yogurt instead of buttermilk
this week. it looks nice, but it's confusing when shopping "

I must admit that a few looks better than the original tough : Red Bull, Lindt
and Schweppes.

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code_duck
No doubt this appeals to people like us, steeped in the popular aesthetic
trends of the web. However, a brand would have to be very well known to be
able to pull off a design like that for these sorts of mass market products.

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DannoHung
The Schweppes and Lindt ultra-minimalist designs are really good. They retain
all the brand recognition while removing all cruft. The other ones aren't bad,
but they're not great.

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geedee77
I thought the Schweppes one was easily the best but the Lindt version took
away from the luxury feel of the brand and damaged the buying experience.

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scarboy
These renditions ignore illiterate or lazy shoppers who rely on pictures for
their purchasing.

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fleitz
Also, shoppers who don't speak English as a first language. Whenever I'm in
the ethnic isles at the local grocer I heavily rely on pictures to figure out
what stuff is.

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Confusion
I find most of these 'minimalist' renditions are vastly less attractive than
the original ones, to the point where I think I would stop buying them in
favor of a more attractive competitor (if I would be buying them; I never buy
most of these products). However, true minimalist designs are often more
attractive than 'decorated' counterparts. So I think these aren't minimalist
renditions; just bland renditions.

