Still catching up...but I'm owning it.

So for those who don't know (or didn't care...*sniff*), I was out for a week and a half straight right after the new semester started due to some random stomach virus that had me vomiting all over the place for over a week. Good times. Anyway, I know I'm a little behind the rest of the class at the moment, but I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend and be all caught up on Monday.

For now, here's what I have for Project 1 - Redesigning packaging for existing food/grocery product:

I've chosen Menchie's frozen yogurt as my product, store shown below on Laurel Canyon Blvd. in North Hollywood/Valley Village.

If you're not familiar with Menchie's, get the hell on the bandwagon now. Forget your Pinkberrys and your CeFiore nonsense. Menchie's is where it's at, yo. They have more flavors, more toppings (many are sugar free/kosher), and the best part is you get to server yourself. You basically run around the store, pulling all the levers like a Lucy and Ethel moment, mixing up as many flavors as you want suicide style. Then you pay by weight instead of toppings (that's where they get you - it sounds cheaper, but you try being reasonable in this fro-yo-fun-factory), then go home and violate your face. It's sick.

Anyway, they actually have an existing logo and style guide that I think are pretty successful, which you can see a bit of in the outdoor signage below.

 What I'd like to do is take that and incorporate it into packaging, which they don't really have. Basically, they have white styrofoam and cardboard take-out containers for the yogurt, and that's it. You just slap a lid on and go.

I noticed they're expanding their stores nationwide, and I couldn't help but think about the product eventually ending up in freezers at supermarkets. I thought about a different approach than the typical ice cream container, and came up with squeeze tubes, sold individually or boxed. Maybe you've seen other products in similar packaging: thick, cylindrical shaped paper tubing, tapered at the bottom end with a pull 'n' peel paper lid at the top? Here are my first round of thumbs for the squeeze tubes, still a bit rough (and small - wtf, blog?), but as I said, I'm hoping to make great advances this weekend! :)

Above: the concept...I don't know what's going on with my scanner, sorry for the weird cropping.

More to come!