From the Designer's Desk: Cupcake Box

Billy's Bakery in NYC is the type of bakery you would expect to see in an Andy Griffith Show rerun with homemade pies cooling in the windows. You won’t find trendy flavor profiles du jour here.  What you will find are the tried and true recipes that we have all grown up with; brownies, cupcakes, bundt cakes, and lemon squares to name a few.

When Billy's came to DPI to work on their packaging, I thought "FREE CUPCAKES!"  Unfortunately for me, the cupcakes didn't survive the trip in the mail, not to mention the 120º Arizona heat.  Our packaging concept started as a box for people who purchased a single cupcake to take to the office to enjoy at their desks. Initially the cupcakes were put in bags or small boxes, but when you would arrive at your office there was more frosting on the inside of the bag/box than on your cupcake. We were facing an uphill battle to keep the union of cake and frosting as it was intended by nature.

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Ruggedly Lux

 

Woody had to go on stable rest after an excursion that went awry. Next time, don't leave home without the GPS.

With the Holidays right around the corner, (yikes!) I’m in search for the perfect gift for Brad, my husband. See, this year he acquired a horse, and with it, a heightened sense of adventure. I’ve settled on seeking out some kind of locating device, given his recent lost-in-the-mountains-on-horseback-for-24-hours experience. While we were lucky enough to recover him unscathed (just hungry, tired and sunburned), I have resolved that on his next trail quest must be equipped with a global positioning system of some sort. I don’t ever want to call search and rescue again to find my husband.

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Best Bet: Grand Spa at Las Vegas MGM Grand

During a recent trip to Vegas, I fell in love with Big Elvis, a 500-pound Elvis impersonator (aka Peter Vallee) that mumbled pitch perfect through his songs in the smoke filled Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon at Harrah’s, Big Elvis is quintessential Vegas. (Although recently Big Elvis has shed a few hundred pounds at his doctors’ urgings, his impersonation continues to generate a huge following.)  Despite being one of the best places to people watch and off the wall entertainment like Big Elvis, I’ll be the first to admit there is only so much real Vegas I can take, before it's time to get away. Far away. For those moments, I suggest the latest Vegas oasis, Grand Spa at MGM Grand.  With completely noise dampening walls, the Vegas outside is easy to forget.

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Color Me Purple

 

Purple is the hot new color for celebs this fashion season.  Pantone, Inc., the leading authority on professional color standards for the design industries, selected blue-purple as the color of the year for 2008.  Left to right are Hilary Duff, Charlize Theron, and Sophia Bush.

It’s fall – the leaves are changing color and falling (somewhere other than Arizona). The nights come earlier. The mornings later. Women everywhere are getting excited, translating the change of seasons into the need for a new fall wardrobe. This can only mean one thing to me – SHOPPING.

It’s an overused word, thrown around casually, but a word I do not take lightly – “Shopaholic”. I am confessing now, I’m a Shopaholic in the true sense of the word and I’m proud of it. Proud of it because I never, never, pay full price. Never. If it’s not on sale, I don’t buy it.

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From the Designer's Desk: Decléor

Original design sketches (top) show how a design idea shapes and molds into a finished design model (bottom).

Nothing gets us going like an exceptional design challenge. In this case, revitalizing the Decléor brand and packaging program for the U.S. market.

When Decléor approached Design Packaging with the challenge to design a new concept for its Anti-Aging line as part of an overall re-branding effort, we were asked to meet two specific objectives: create packaging that would stand out on a shelf and at the same time double as a display case. Rather than taking the expected route (product windows on a box), we created a case that built on the company’s philosophy that beauty is a feeling, not just a genetic trait. Thus, the concept of a hexagonal shaped box, reminiscent of DNA structures, was born.   

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UPDATE: When Cute is Cool

Couldn't get enough of my first Vespa post?

The only thing better than one Vespa is two Vespas! Double your pleasure! Now depending on my mood or my outfit, I have the option of “serious” aviator grey or “sunny” warm yellow. Impulsive purchase, yes. Any regrets, absolutely not!

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Lessons from Ike

Every once in a while, life presents us with the opportunity to reevaluate our priorities. Mine came two weeks ago, with Ike. As a 10-year Houston resident, I had become desensitized to hurricane warnings. With Rita, we heeded the advice and left town, only to learn the hurricane had been downgraded to a tropical storm. So when we received similar warnings for Ike, we decided to stay home and ride it out.

In anticipation of the storm, we stocked up on water, extra essentials and hunkered down. The night Ike hit felt eternal. First the power went out, then, howling winds and rain pummeled our home. It was impossible to sleep.

The next morning, we gathered at our neighbor’s home to watch the news on a generator-powered television. Our hearts went out to our friends in Galveston—homes completely destroyed, their lives uprooted in an instant. My priorities in life became instantly clear. Family, friends, community. That’s really all that matters.

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