Tag: product packaging

Detergent boxes: Graphic inspiration

January 8th, 2010 | No Comments

detergent boxes
Image via daniele_lavamat


Over the holidays, I rediscovered my love for detergent boxes — especially vintage detergent boxes. I love how their graphic swirls and shapes are designed to arrest the eye. Beyond that, there’s something ineffably cool about the way detergent boxes have “all-over” compositions — they use all available space. Throughout this genre of design, it is as if negative space is viewed contemptuously as a waste of space!

That said, thank goodness for Flickr. And thank goodness for people like daniele_lavamat, who photograph and upload their detergent box collections (shown at left). If you haven’t seen this collection, and you like packaging, daniele_lavamat’s photostream is worth a visit. You’ll find fascinating snaps of European brands like Ariel, Dixan, and Soflan.

And there’s also IvoryTide’s photos of classic American detergent and soap brands, such as Fab, Rinso and Dash. The Rinso box below is gorgeous.

Guess I should upload photos of my detergent box collection, which represents brands like Trend and Biz. Wonder why I haven’t already. Regardless, a small part of my vintage packaging collection can be found on Flickr here.


Fans of vintage packaging, rejoice!

August 5th, 2007 | 6 Comments

I love packaging. I have a mad collection of boxes and wrappers going back 20 years. A lot of them are vintage pieces — those are my favorite. And I love Japanese packaging and Korean packaging, too.

This weekend, I was helping family with cleaning out an old house … it’s a long story … but an elderly person lived there, and he had moved out, so the house is being rented out. The experience was a bit of a time-warp.

Lo and behold, dear reader, my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when I spied a box full of vintage (Dare I say forgotten about?) cleaning supplies. It was Vintage Packaging-o-Rama! And I got to keep them! Equitable compensation, indeed!

So here are just a few photos of these packaging pieces, which date back to the early to mid-80s. After years of scouring the net for vintage packaging photos, I finally have a chance to give something back!

Enjoy!

Grant Wiggins

Vintage Clorox     Vanish
 
Vintage Glad Garbage Bags
 
Vintage Reynolds Aluminum Foil