Don’t get me wrong, one of my favourite sounds is that of a cork being pulled from a good bottle of wine, however, there are many benefits to buying wine in a box.

 Aimed at those with an active, modern lifestyle…..the versatile containers are shatterproof, portable, and practical with a resealable, twist-off cap, making it a perfect wine choice for ski trips, backpacking, camping, and outdoor entertainment.  As an added bonus, wine stays fresh for longer and its better for the environment!

 While boxed wine has been on the shelves for a while, the packaging and design both seem to have evolved.  Don’t think of the large boxes in the 80’s that our parents used to try and fit unsuccessfully in to the fridge – but think more organic, streamlined, contemporary packaging;

Yellow + Blue = Green (see what they did there?!).  This wine not only comes in a box but it’s also organic and since it is more cost effective for the winery to have the wine packaged in a box they can sell it at a lower cost. So we are helping the environment and our wallets.

French Rabbit’s revolutionary packaging reduces packaging waste by 90% compared to glass bottles, and reduces emissions and greenhouse gases during shipping.  Also, for every 4 French Rabbit’s sold, one tree is planted. 

Boho Vineyards beautiful packaging is 95% recycled craft paper and uses only soy-based inks. This table –worthy design with paisley swirls pay homage to vintage bohemian chic.

 The Three Thieves “bullets,” sold four to a pack, resemble elongated, narrow juice boxes (complete with straw) with less severe edges. It’s nothing new to buy such a four-pack; mass-market brands have been doing it for years. But the new format offers both more wine — 250 ml, versus the standard 187-ml serving — and less waste.

For those of you concerned with the quality of sipping wine through a straw, fear no more, Tetra Pak has come up with a new ‘Sensory Straw’ that can direct the flow of a drink to different zones in the mouth to maximise flavour.  With a sealed end and four holes punched around the top, the straw is said to spread liquid over more of the mouth than conventional straws, which tend to squirt it down the back of the throat.  The new method means the drink comes into contact with taste buds in different areas, such as those on the side of the tongue which are most sensitive to sweetness… Cool!

Raising the profile of other Birmingham talent and highlighting our love of ‘craft’ – making the impossible, possible through vision, passion, focus and hard work.

Take a look at the full article plus cool video here

Originally found here

The culmination of nearly a century of activism, Prohibition was intended to improve, even to ennoble, the lives of all Americans, to protect individuals, families, and society at large from the devastating effects of alcohol abuse.

But the enshrining of a faith-driven moral code in the Constitution paradoxically caused millions of Americans to rethink their definition of morality. Thugs became celebrities, responsible authority was rendered impotent. Social mores in place for a century were obliterated. Especially among the young, and most especially among young women, liquor consumption rocketed, propelling the rest of the culture with it: skirts shortened. Music heated up. America’s Sweetheart morphed into The Vamp.

…This looks like a very interesting documentary which draws on lots of parallels to western life today.

Here is an interview with the film maker Ken Burns…

This description jumped into my mind recently, upon reading that Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has said that the government wants tobacco companies to have “no business” in Britain and will launch a consultation into stripping cigarette packets of all branding, according to an interview in the Times.

The similarity is stark.

There are many arguments, from many quarters, for and against the de-branding of cigarette packaging, that are well documented; perhaps, as designers, we should be flattered that branding is seen as being key to this whole debate?

This raises interesting issues about intellectual property rights for brand owners and design agencies alike. As John Noble, Director, British Brands Group has said “Branding also involves intellectual property rights that have been granted by the state and which companies have invested in over many decades to make extremely valuable so if the state effectively requisitions those intellectual property rights there is a question over the legitimacy of that and there is also a case for recompense and compensation.” This view is already playing out in Australia, where Philip Morris is suing the Australian government over a new law making plain packaging mandatory for cigarettes from December 2012.

Nobody can deny the amount of money that the NHS spends each year providing medical support to smokers; but where next? And is destroying brands the answer, with all its accompanying concerns regarding quality and counterfeiting? We all know and recognise that a brand is so much more than a “pretty pack” it is also a badge of authenticity and quality (amongst many other things). I’m not the first, and I certainly won’t be the last to wonder if this approach will be mirrored in other categories . . . Alcohol? Confectionery?

The question that needs to be carefully considered is whether it is actually the de-branding of the packs – or a change in consumer attitudes – that will result in the behaviour changes that our government seeks.

However you define the issue at hand and whatever your stance on it – surely the best course of action is to make the right changes for the right people in the right way.