Design Evaluation

Take a moment to compare these two visual designs.

Now that you've looked at them I'm sure you've noticed a few design aspects that make these similar products different. When I look at these two products I think back to the people in Africa who didn't buy the Gerber baby food because they thought there was literal babies inside of the cans of food because there was  a picture of a baby on the label. If those same people were placed with these two options of which deodorant to buy I wonder if they would choose the product with a palm tree in the picture, or the one with a picture of what looks like a clock in the background. 

The Old Spice product makes me want to impulsively buy it, while I feel like I want to stay as far away as possible from the speed stick. Lots of design has gone into the packaging of these two different items and I feel the Old spice one was successful, but the Speed Stick one was not done as well. 

First, I believe simplicity helps make and break it for these two products. The very first thing I notice is the picture of the palm tree and the tropical beach on the Old Spice deodorant. Guessing from this picture I have an idea of what it might smell like without reading any of the label. On the Speed Stick label there is what seems to be an analog clock with only the minute hand and not the hour hand that is incorporated to show how the deodorant will give you full day protection. It took me a while to figure out that was a clock in the background. It wasn't something I could easily understand right away.

Next, I feel that the simple shape of the Old Spice packaging makes it visually more appealing because of it's design. It has gentle and smooth curves that aren't distracting from what the label is trying to explain. In comparison, the Speed Stick has two big side grips that functionally may give more purpose if your hands happen to be slippery, but I find it just a little distracting. 

Color also has a very big influence in comparing these two products. The Old Spice container is all one solid light color that compliments the color of the sand on the beach. The blue on the Speed Stick is so bold that it seems a little overbearing. In addition, the yellow also sticks out so much that it gets the point across, but it does it in an unattractive way for me. 

Text and font in these two designs also differs greatly. In the Speed Stick bar, all the text seems squished together that it had to take up the entire space on the front of the package. In contrast on the Old Spice deodorant there is plenty of open space between the text that doesn't feel busy, but it gives you that sense of relaxation as if you're hanging out at the beach. 

Continuity does play a part in both designs. We see this in how everything in the Speed Stick label is diagonal, and in the Old spice everything is centered and lays horizontally. However, overall I believe Old Spice did a much better job designing their label on every possible way.