October 12, 2012

10 Awesome Vintage Packaging Designs for Inspiration

awesome vintage packaging designs
Here are some examples of vintage packaging design, from medicine packaging and beverages to beer cans. What do you find most intriguing about vintage packaging? We love to hear your thoughts.

Packaging Design related articles:
  1. 60 Best Food Packaging Designs for Inspiration
  2. 40 Modern Electronic Packaging Designs Inspiration
  3. 40 Awesome Coffee Packaging Designs Inspiration
  4. 35 Cute Milk Packaging Design Inspiration
  5. 18 Creative Tobacco Packaging Designs

1. Listerine Vintage Packaging via Design Muse

 vintage packaging design

This gorgeous packaging for the popular mouthwash more accurately resembles a perfume bottle and is really quite beautiful for such a mundane product.

2. Pharmaceutical Labels Vintage Packaging via Such Pretty Things

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

Vintage labels are a wonderful source of inspiration for modern packaging design. While some are very simple and a little lackluster, others are rich in beautiful typography and delicate linework. Production limitations and costs of the time meant a very limited colour palette was normally employed, often with striking results.

3. Stubby Beer Bottles Vintage Packaging

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

“The stubby beer bottle was Canada’s national beer bottle from 1961 to 1984. In 1961 the Dominion Brewers Association (now the Brewers Association of Canada) replaced the heavy, bulky, non-standard 12oz “pint” and 22oz “quart” beer bottles with a new more efficient designed “stubby” bottle to be used by all Canadian breweries.”

4. Milner Gray Vintage Packaging Designed by Milner Gray, circa 1950s

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

A collection of packaging design sourced from a 1956 publication of Graphis (no. 69)

5. Soda Pop Vintage Packaging

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

A nice collection of vintage soda pop packaging. It would be nice to see some of these brands look to their past when producing their current packaging.

6. Paul Rand Vintage Packaging Designed by Paul Rand

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

Packaging design created for IBM, cigars, scarves and gin by iconic graphic designer, the late Paul Rand.

7. Matchbox Labels Vintage Packaging via Matchbox Labels on Flickr

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

Vintage packaging is a wonderful source of inspiration. Due to the cost of photography and production limitations, illustration reigns supreme, producing some beautiful graphic solutions to the many different messages and advertisements printed on matchboxes during this era. Check out a few designs that caught our eye below.

8. Vintage Packaging – Imagination Paper Vintage Packaging Designed by James Miho

 vintage packaging design

This is a conceptual packaging project created by Champion Papers to promote their line of Kromekote paper. Although these designs are now 42 years old, they have a timeless simplicity which has inspired many a supermarket own-brand over the decades.

9. Beer Cans Vintage Packaging

 vintage packaging design

More vintage packaging for your viewing pleasure, this time in the form of beer cans. There is something about the simple elegance of these cans that we don’t see much of with the brands of today. Someone should also bring back the spout top cans, what’s old is new right?

10. Pharmaceutical Vintage Packaging Designed by: Gary Emery of Emery Vincent Associates for David Bull Laboratories

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

 vintage packaging design

Vintage medicine packaging from the 1960s-1980s, most of which originate from the (out of print) 1984 publication Graphis Packaging 4. If you own this book or happen to know the designers of the first two pieces featured, please let us know in the comments.

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