Packaging is a double edged (or multi-sided) issue. It can be an innovative design medium and a fount of devastating waste. One day, perhaps in the Star Trekian future, just as there will be no more paper (remember Jean-Luc Picard’s “i-pad“), there will be no more physical packaging (and all logos will be holograms). A radical but not inconceivable concept. In the meantime, this is the season to give packages of all kinds, wrapped in paper of all weights, textures and colors, with logos galore.
Insights magazine, the late 1960s-70s journal of Sandgren & Murtha, creators of many insightful logos and package designs, including the stellar Metropolitan Life and Major League Baseball (designer: Jerry Dior, who also designed Nabisco and Kellogg‘s logos) logo, devoted entire issues in 70s and 80s to the guidelines for good packaging. It still makes sense (and is a piece of history too):
