packaging by louise

You won't find much on my DVR. But I always have Nightline taped... it's the best compressed 30 minutes of news I have found, and it's usually how I wind down the day. They have a number of interesting pieces, including the occasional 'Plate List', where they interview a famous chef about their favorite dishes and their life experiences-all condensed into 3 minutes or so. 

The other evening Nightline had a piece on Good Housekeeping's seal of approval. I've never paid much attention to Good Housekeeping, nor did I realize how high its circulation is (10 million!), but the news clip was really interesting (I promise I'm going somewhere with this). The thing that struck me the most was how beautiful the GH seal of approval was! It would be an addition to any packaging, as far as I was concerned. 

Today I found a link to Louise Fili's new blog, and discovered she was the one who designed the seal. Of course! We studied this woman's packaging in design school as if it were designed by a god. The attention to detail is outstanding- the typography is museum-worthy. Pretty much everything she touches is gold.

Perhaps the 'lesson' I learned the most from Ms. Fili was how great packaging can really elevate a product. The example that was often used was in reference to her packaging of margarita salt for El Paso Chile Company. The product inside the beautiful packaging is worth mere pennies, but the container sells for $7! That's a huge markup- all because someone wants to have that container sitting on their countertop (or in their cupboard). 

She's changed the way I look at food packaging forever.