For Critique Structures, I chose to redo Albertsons brand Olive Oil. I found it on one of the bottommost shelves, thus proving that it’s generic, and it’s badly overdue for a facelift. The original is quite bland. It has very boring typefaces on the front label and a poor illustration of a nature scene, which they use for all of their products. Also, the actual bottle is boring and unappealing. It’s made of cheap clear plastic in a rectangular shape with ridges on the sides –which, while practical, aren’t very pleasing to the eye. Thinking about it, the poor design might be intentional since consumers usually think that poor packaging equals lower price.

For the redesign, I was thinking class, and targeted it for connoisseurs. I wanted some way to make the Albertsons brand stand out among its competitors (the olive oil market is pretty cutthroat.)  I chose to go pretty simple. When researching the product, I found that much of the time, a simple design can be just, if not more so, effective in connoting refinement. A good example of this would be Godiva chocolates.

The font I chose has slanted baselines, which makes me think of Greek and in general the Mediterranean region. As for the other elements, I went with a simple illustration of an olive branch. I completely redesigned the container as well. I chose to mimic wine labeling, since only classy people drink wine. Ha. Joking aside, I put the product in an actual wine bottle. So as not to confuse the consumer into thinking that it is spirits, I chose an olive colored ink for the print. Also, I went without a label; choosing instead to print directly onto the bottle.

Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with the end result and I think it could stand on its own if it were a real product.

I also made a little video showcasing the product. Keep in mind that I’ve had very little actual training in 3D.

Made with Photoshop & Illustrator CS3, Maya 2008, and Final Cut Pro.