SUPERMART

The second exhibition consisted of a colour coded shopping aisle of highly rated packaging design. From Campbell’s Soup to Coke and Milk to Heineken, the shelves were stacked.

The layout looked beautiful and as a group we felt that general supermarkets should be laid out this way, even if it would take twice as long to find anything… or would it?

A table ran down the middle of the exhibition displaying different brands that have limited editions, or numerous ways to package the same product, or in some cases rip off an existing piece of packaging (Lemon Juice).

What was also interesting was the ‘history’ plinths of the Supermart that showed different product packaging that had developed over the years. Quite similar to the presentation of the Packaging Museum in London which I also recommend if you’re down and around there, you should visit.

Courtesy of Peter Matthews ©

Just a shame he used quotation marks instead of inch marks.

The show included “The Revival High Street” which takes you back to British main streets of old, including a period Tesco supermarket. Full of packaging from 1966.

Here are some shots of inside the store.

I find it really interesting to see how some of our most iconic brands have barley changed in the last 45 years. Proving that a good iconic design mixed with a great product, will stand the test of time.

Creative review has featured some of them in a review of the book Owl Label edited by Jonny Trunk. Produced in collaboration with the Sainsbury family and The Sainsbury Archive, the book reveals an astonishing and exhaustive body of work. A unique insight into what and how we ate, the packaging is presented using both scanned original flat packets and photographic records made at the time. With an essay by Emily King featuring interviews with Peter Dixon and Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover.

The Modernist-inspired work produced by the Sainsbury’s Design Studio between 1962 and 1977 that features in the book is extraordinary in its consistency and simplicity of approach: most was printed in three colours with typeface choices left to the individual designers.

According to the book, by the late 90s, Sainsbury’s had begun to lose ground to its aggressive rival Tesco. Even the company’s own website refers to the years leading up to 2005 as “a disappointing period in our history”.
AMV’s Oliver-led “heavy” advertising campaign, launched that year, contributed to a turnaround in the company’s fortunes – as did its packaging which is now produced by a roster of independent firms.

Would any of the work featured in Own Label be successful on a supermarket shelf today?

I personally really like some of these, I like the simplicity. However, I also love some of the recent packaging that agencies such as Williams Murray Hamm have created for Sainsbury’s in recent years.

“The Brief was to create a piece of packaging based on a myth. Taking inspiration from the children’s fable of the Moon being made up of Green Cheese, the idea is using the surface and cycles of the moon to replicate the strength of the cheese. Using 19th century engravings of the moon this gives it an overall unique look that the packaging needs to set itself away from the modern day supermarket brands.”

Great piece of work, lovely idea.

“The brief was to go into the pound shop and pick out something that seemed dull and completely re-think the packaging of it. The idea is that the elastic band in the middle squeezes the box and the stronger the band, the more the box is squeezed.”