Research for Packaging: Retro and Tattoo Design

Getting really excited about the project as a lot of design opportunities have come to me. I really enjoy packaging and in a lot of cases it is the packaging that makes the product most enticing to me, not so much the content.

While I was away in the holidays I went to a small town in the south island called Arrowtown. The town was so awesome as it has kept its shape from a very long time ago, but to describe it best its like walking through a western only with modern cars parked either side of the road! All the shops kept the old feel whilst still being modern.

My favourite shop of the day was the candy shop! They sold a huge variety of english confectionary, in house fudge, chocolates and of course all the modern candy that you can get. The thing I liked most inside the shop was some of the quirkey packaging for mints and canned beverages (they had cherry cola!). The product was modern but the design on a lot of the stuff was retro as (similar to the stuff you see in design gift shops like manu in New Plymouth).

I think its fair to say that retro design is in! I personally love it and want to use it for my branding. I've seen a few cosmetic products around with the retro twist too, especially pin up design. I did a quick mood board to inspire me I especially like the can designs.

I think its definitely possible to use the old traditional tattoo style to come up with a brand. Especially since a skull and bones represent toxic chemicals, this is a perfect place to start. Another quick collection of images.

I'm not a fan of skulls and don't think I've ever actually drawn one before but I think its really relevant for this project. One type of skull that I do kinda like is the woman's face with decorative patterns, lines and shadows to suggest a skull. I discovered today that this is a popular design referred to as a Mexican skull. Time to get sketching I think :)