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.
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1. Listerine Vintage Packaging via Design Muse
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 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
“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
A collection of packaging design sourced from a 1956 publication of Graphis (no. 69)
5. Soda Pop Vintage Packaging
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
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 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
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
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 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.
