Good and Bad Design in Packaging

  These Duracell AAA battery packs caught my attention, and I think it is very clever packaging.  The immediate grab is the connection to pop culture in a unique and witty way.  I would imagine a large majority of the US population would recognize at least one of the characters on first sight, and they even pander to a younger demographic by including Daft Punk.  The design is very simple, but it works for me in a number of ways.  There's a very nice symmetrical balance vertically, and for the most part they are all one solid color.  The text is easily readable and I appreciate the fact that it's not at all difficult to discern what the packaging contains, they're clearly rechargeable batteries.  Being that they're batteries, and that all of the characters are at least somewhat robotic or electronic in nature, I think gives this packaging coherence and harmony.  Again, there's many people who will have a very emotional response to these images.  In my opinion, this is good packaging design.  

   These are not batteries, they are salt and pepper shakers.  While I can appreciate the uniqueness of this idea, I would never buy these.  At first sight one immediately thinks ''batteries.''  After a closer look its clear they are salt and pepper shakers.  If there are actual batteries located somewhere in my house, they would be in a drawer or cupboard.  I hate the idea of having these located on the dining room table or the stove or wherever, because it would look like I have trash or clutter there on first glance.  It would bug me.  I also don't like the fact that the text reads vertically,  I don't want to have to to slightly tilt my head.  The graphic design on the sides seems cluttered and busy, there's too much going on.  Also the color doesn't feel harmonious to me.  Teal or turquoise doesn't seem like a color that pairs very often with basic red.  These are kind of a cool idea but to me specifically, it doesn't work.  

Balance, Harmony, and Contrast

   This is the statue of Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  I chose this photograph because the contrast stood out to me.  The lighting causes a silhouette that contrasts the blue sky and clouds behind it.  I was also drawn to the symmetrical balance that is obvious, with the exception of the tree you could almost fold it in half.  I feel like this picture contains harmony, it is pleasing to the eye.  The body language of the statue contributes to the feeling of harmony, the way his hands are outstretched leads to kind of a welcoming feeling, kind of an elegance.  Whether one is religious or not, the peaceful feeling is prevalent.  

     It's also important to consider the real life context.  This statue has very significant religious meaning to christians in Brazil and all over the world.  The people standing at the bottom of the statue are  a clue to this contextual significance.  To someone with religious convictions, this photo has even more of a visceral impact.