From FoodBev.com:

Best redesigned food brand

• *Winner:* Delhaize Belgium Jam by Lavernia & Cienfuegos Design.

"Own label gets sexier and sexier, so that it’s hard to distinguish from 'brands'. Delhaize Belgium Jam works and stands out because it has the confidence to be simple in a category crowded with heavy imagery."

"The redesign of Delhaize Belgium Jams is to the point, focused, clear, clean, attracting the consumer’s eye by celebrating the core of the product (taste/fruit), making a lot out of a very simple thing. It's become more than just jam. Well done."

Two of our projects each win Gold at Pentawards

Wines of the World and Solcare have both been awarded Golds at the Pentawards 2012, the largest international design awards devoted to packaging design.

In the 'Beverages' category, Wines of the World is a range of wine labels designed for the Belgium supermarket chain Delhaize in their private label brand "365".

Solcare is a range of sun-care products for the Spanish supermarket retailer Mercadona, awarded in 'Body - Own Brands'.

Top Graphic Design Series: Packaging

Nacho Lavernia describes the actual role of packaging in the foreword to 'Graphic Design Series: Packaging' from Hightone Book Publishing. The volume includes the designs for 'Rabitos Royale', 'Único Musk', 'Ego' y '9.60'. [PDF]

Foreword: The Salesman Who Says A Lot

You are in the shop, in front of the shelf, and you see packs, many packs. You are looking for something but you still haven’t found it. Your eyes and mind are very attentive and very receptive. Suddenly you see something that interests you. You look there and focus in on a particular product. Why this one and not another? Perhaps you already knew of it or someone had recommended it. But what if you hadn’t known of it? And if you had never heard of it? Why have you chosen this product?Firstly, because you’ve seen it. You noticed it and isolated it from the rest. Then there is something about it that attracts you. So you draw nearer. Do you know the brand? Perhaps not but you feel that it inspires confidence, it transmits security. It looks like a product that has been cared about, well made. And you would like to try it. You look at the price. You pick it up and read the information: qualities, uses, features... Finally you take a decision. You place it in your shopping cart or bag and you carry it to the checkout. You have bought it.Nobody has advised you nor forced you. It has been the packaging alone which sold itself. It has got your attention. It has transmitted trust. It has connected to your desires, with your tastes. It has made you a promise. It has spoken to you, informed you and convinced you.

More than 50 years ago, James Pilditch wrote a book on packaging that today is already a classic. It was titled “The Silent Salesman” and from then on, this expression has become synonymous with packaging. The silent salesman. Perhaps this should now be rephrased as this salesman is not at all silent. Furthermore, it says many things and, at the moment of purchase, is able to say the things which are the most important, the most decisive.

If you are a manufacturer, wholesaler or designer, is it essential that you understand that the packaging should speak. And it must do so in a language suited to the consumer it wants to attract. Sometimes times talking loudly, at times in a whisper and, occasionally, with a wink... But never forget that, above all, packaging is communication.