If there was such a thing as design Twitter, then the kind of packaging that wants to be your friend (AKA ‘do me an innocent’) has been trending for years. It even attracted a rather sarcastic blog. Whilst the UK may be a bit tired of ‘wackaging’ it’s still spreading throughout Europe, but here in The Netherlands they have their very own ubiquitous metaphor – Delft.
This characteristic blue pottery is one of the country’s signature graphic identifiers and whilst once only interesting to antiques dealers and historians, it’s now a real favourite with designers. The key is to use Delft patterns and symbols in an unexpected context, usually contrasting it with very modern forms, materials, typography and other graphics, as in this example for frozen herring. Shame there’s no real sense of a brand here, as it’s otherwise a highly engaging example of modern Dutch design.