African Packaging Design & Designers

Wikipedia defines packaging as “the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages.”

Packaging design is one of the first things that comes to mind when you think about graphic design. Packaging design is the first point of contact between the customer and the product and is most effective when it captures your attention and provokes you to feel and communicate certain emotions toward a product.

Packaging Design in Africa has always been creative and innovative with its ecletic use of color, illustration, typography and materials. Here are some examples from or inspired by Africa.

The Unseen Bean

Cool package design by The Tenfold Collective. Each illustration represents the coffee’s origin.

The World’s Best Coffees

Woolworths SA

“New brand creation conveying modern South African authenticity, depth and taste.”

African Cola

Designed by Jupp Ernst | Country: Germany

“The drink has been around since 1931 and operated during World War II with dirty means a tough campaign against his greatest enemy, Coca-Cola. During the 1960s it seemed as if the African Cola was losing cola war in the German market.

Tropical Wholefoods

Dried fruit and dried mushroom brand recently unvailed a new branding, packaging and product line for Tropical Wholefoods from Great Britain. The new packaging was designed by Simmer.

Tusker

Keeping TUSKER’S corporate colours and their icon (elephant) the label got a complete facelift. A more traditional shape was created for the bottom label to enhance the maturity of the beer. However within the label a younger approach was designed. To emphasise the name TUSKER and the meanings behind it, several elements were integrated. The two tusks build a frame around the modernized elephant, which now plays a more important role on the label. In addition elephant skin subtlety forms the background. In order to highlight TUSKERS heritage, the top label incorporates the silhouette of the Kilimanjaro and mentions their slogan “My Beer, My Country” in Swahili. The label graphics were also applied to the 6-pack packaging.

Claire Baleson

Shea Radiance

Nike (RED) Lace Up

Wild Africa Cream

Wild Africa’s packaging is an avant-garde combination of first and third world. The leopard skin jacket on the bottle is soft and warm to the touch, while the “ubuntu” beads on the bottleneck symbolize the African tradition of goodwill and sharing between people. The lasting impression is one of quality and the blend of textures generates electrifying shelf appeal.

Phant

Czech design studio Touch Branding was committed to create a simple and easy to remember brand name, brand identity and product label for a middle-segment wine with a South African identity though.

The name PHANT (shortened word Elephant) resonated well with the young-in-heart Czech wine drinkers and a hand-drawn elephant icon is stylized to resemble traditional South African art.

Buna Bet Ethiopian Coffee

Buna Bet is a new sustainable Ethiopian coffee brand which supports African Ethiopian farms. The ancient rituals of Ethiopian coffee culture have been translated into the ‘modern’ pack design.

The developed identity is a symbiosis of the European retail with an African coffee culture. With the use of bright colours and inspiring visual Ethiopian patterns, the origin and coffee rituals are brought to the consumers.

VBAT developed Buna Bet’s design for the DUTCH market and there are plans for a European roll out.

Brandt Botes

Musica

Musica is one of South Africa’s leading entertainment retailers. For their range of accessories packaging we urged the buyer/user to earn a product badge by performing specific tasks which left them considerably cooler and street smart.

Bill’s Dairy Farm

Having been asked by Bill’s Dairy Farm in South Africa to create carton graphics for their new range of milkshakes, ilovedust created a distinct design solution.

Featuring strawberry, chocolate and vanilla flavours, each individual graphic features its own character and specific colour palate. The fun, candy shop style packaging is designed to appeal to a young target market remit of 12 – 25 year olds.

Warren Willmott

Stop Wining

The concept revolved around red wines and that certain wines are heavier than others, with regards to alcohol content and tannin count. This made the decision making process far simpler especially for those consumers who are not wine literate. The design incorporates a 360 degree aspect revolving all the way around the box, a carry strap has also been added to the side for convenience. The bottles were sand blasted then sprayed black, then colour tech was applied for the labeling.

Marcel Buerkle

Marcel Buerkle is a Graphic, Package and Branding designer from Johannesburg, South Africa. His portfolio includes his impressive package designs. His designs have been featured all around the world.

Organic Honey

Quick Kiwi

Moag Bailie