9 ms·

Fun fact: They mandated all packages of snus (a "dip", or tobacco you put under your lip) sold in Norway must be plain and in this color. But it actually looks

Fun fact: They mandated all packages of snus (a "dip", or tobacco you put under your lip) sold in Norway must be plain and in this color. But it actually looks kind of good—very minimalist. So much so that people like this packaging more. (Image and source, Norwegian: https://www.itromso.no/ntb/iriks/2019/10/02/N%C3%B8ytrale-esker-reduserer-snuslyst-viser-studie-20076106.ece https://www.itromso.no/ntb/iriks/2019/10/02/N%C3%B8ytrale-es...) When asked how much they like the new packaging, 30% say "a lot" or "pretty well", compared with 20% for the old packaging. (Norwegian, https://www.nettavisen.no/okonomi/hoie-boksen-skulle-vaere-stygg-ny-undersokelse-viser-at-langt-flere-digger-dem/3423853847.html https://www.nettavisen.no/okonomi/hoie-boksen-skulle-vaere-s...) Picture of new vs (one type of) old box: https://www.nrk.no/osloogviken/_stygge_-snusbokser-far-design-skryt-1.14026524 https://www.nrk.no/osloogviken/_stygge_-snusbokser-far-desig...

rblatz 7y ago
Hilarious, looks like an expensive all natural beard wax.
arkitaip 7y ago
I think this is a great example of brutalist/ugly design where you go so far to the opposite on the aesthetic spectrum that your design starts to appeal to people.
- omnimus 7y ago
  Well because it is not ugly. It is utilitarian. It looks like military rations design which are often wonderful (especially japanese and australian army) and extremely well designed.
mortenjorck 7y ago
If the design brief was to make something unappealing, that does indeed look like a total failure. The restrained typography and muted color give the product a more upmarket look. What this really called for was the Impact font, Microsoft WordArt, gradients, drop shadows, and maybe some stock photography. [Update: I have answered the call: http://presteign.com/files/skruf.jpg http://presteign.com/files/skruf.jpg]
- thrwaway69 7y ago
  Give it dark pink-purple-green or rainbow gradient with coarse dotted look and capitalised water colored font. I would stay very far away from it then.
- dehrmann 7y ago
  Scandinavian design. But the tin looks completely different from General. I asked a Swede, but I can't remember the different markets those brands are going after.
- varjag 7y ago
  Could be one of few legit uses for Comic Sans.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Chris2048 7y ago
    Perhaps when they bury nuclear waste, they can warn off future civilisations with stone tablets etched in comic sans?
    - thecyborganizer 7y ago
      https://i.imgur.com/1G4oZj5.png https://i.imgur.com/1G4oZj5.png
    - tdy721 7y ago
      For our future robot overlords: <blink font="Comic Sans">This is not a place of honor.</blink>
    - m-p-3 7y ago
      As well as some ClipArts to tie it together
- pushpop 7y ago
  I love the update. That has to be one of the funniest and most creative posts on here I’ve seen in a while. Good work
tluse 7y ago
As a snus (ab)using Swede, I'd really prefer this packaging rather than the original ones. Classy, Norway!
legohead 7y ago
has a military feel to it, which is perfect for the demographic
wattengard 7y ago
I have two friends who work in grocery shops... They hate it... It takes at least twice as long to find the correct item when customers ask for it...
- Freak_NL 7y ago
  That could be considered an unintended positive feature of the design. Sucks for the retail workers of course in the mean time.
  - jacobush 7y ago
    It's actually (sort of) an intended feature. They want to make it harder for the tobacco companies to promote their products.
laydn 7y ago
I think they should make the cigarette packs in bright rainbow colors. I think visual and color complexity is more of a turnoff compared to solid colors.
- tomlong 7y ago
  I would think there is a concern about what might be considered attractive to children, not really designed to put off adults with a developed sense of aesthetic, who are already users.
  - elldoubleyew 7y ago
    Agreed. These designs are serving their purpose, to deter children. The general theme in these comments is that these designs look too modern or up-class. The reason it looks like this is because its a product for adults, children generally don't appreciate this kind of design so I would imagine this works pretty well.
jeen02 7y ago
you snus you lose
colordrops 7y ago
To be fair at least it probably doesn't appeal to younger people. The minimalist sensibility is kind of acquired with age.
- Arn_Thor 7y ago
  Oh but it does
TeMPOraL 7y ago
Yup. Total failure. In fact, I'd like all products I buy to have this design (+/- different colors). I know it's untenable in practice, but in my perfect imaginary utopia, products on shelves would have minimalistic (and standardized) packaging with no branding crap, and the labeling would be maximized for utility. Product type and core variables (e.g. "milk" and "UHT 2%") in large font, ingredients, nutrition table and manufacturer/expiry date in small font below or to the side. Like e.g. this bottle: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BAoadypFBQ4/maxresdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BAoadypFBQ4/maxresdefault.jpg. Every now and then, some company releases a product run with similar minimalistic packaging; when I spot it in the store, I tend to buy it just for the packaging. EDIT: Come to think of it, I feel like calling bullshit on the whole "ugly color" idea. What color is actually perceived by a human depends on a lot of factors, like material, texture, lighting, shadows - or in case of digital reproductions, color capabilities and calibration of the display. Case in point: on my half-decent display, this Norway snus looks premium to me, not ugly. And in a physical store, I bet the vendors set up the colors of the lights on a shelf to maximize that premium feeling. If you want to go for maximum effect, you need to take something that the brain can't just interpret differently because the light slightly changed. E.g. visceral colors + texture. Or the usual shots of tumors, like on cigarette boxes in some countries. If I wanted to go for maximum effect, I'd mandate that the packaging should contain large photos of: a tumor, a spider, and a lotus seed pod. This would be sure to scare off a good chunk of the population (don't Google lotus seed pods if you're not ready to risk a very unpleasant feeling).
- fho 7y ago
  As always ... a relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/993/ https://xkcd.com/993/
  - aembleton 7y ago
    Looks very much like No Frills which was the own brand of Kwik Save, a now defunct UK supermarket. All very much in this style https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dzru1pPW0AE8aDF?format=jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dzru1pPW0AE8aDF?format=jpg&name=...
- 7y ago
semi-extrinsic 7y ago
Anothe fun fact: these are perfect cases for small electronics projects. They have a small and a large compartment, where you can fit e.g. an ESP or Arduino Nano and a battery in the big one, and a click switch and an LED in the small one. The latter has a flexible lid, so you can work the switch just by clicking the lid. Completely innocuous WiFi snoop box, or FastLED controller, or a million other things.
Igelau 7y ago
It's ugly on a white background because it looks like a turd. However, when it's the background it looks nice and organic.

rblatz 7y ago

Hilarious, looks like an expensive all natural beard wax.

arkitaip 7y ago

I think this is a great example of brutalist/ugly design where you go so far to the opposite on the aesthetic spectrum that your design starts to appeal to people.

omnimus 7y ago
Well because it is not ugly. It is utilitarian. It looks like military rations design which are often wonderful (especially japanese and australian army) and extremely well designed.

mortenjorck 7y ago

If the design brief was to make something unappealing, that does indeed look like a total failure. The restrained typography and muted color give the product a more upmarket look. What this really called for was the Impact font, Microsoft WordArt, gradients, drop shadows, and maybe some stock photography. [Update: I have answered the call: http://presteign.com/files/skruf.jpg http://presteign.com/files/skruf.jpg]

thrwaway69 7y ago
Give it dark pink-purple-green or rainbow gradient with coarse dotted look and capitalised water colored font. I would stay very far away from it then.
dehrmann 7y ago
Scandinavian design. But the tin looks completely different from General. I asked a Swede, but I can't remember the different markets those brands are going after.
varjag 7y ago
Could be one of few legit uses for Comic Sans.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Chris2048 7y ago
  Perhaps when they bury nuclear waste, they can warn off future civilisations with stone tablets etched in comic sans?
  - thecyborganizer 7y ago
    https://i.imgur.com/1G4oZj5.png https://i.imgur.com/1G4oZj5.png
  - tdy721 7y ago
    For our future robot overlords: <blink font="Comic Sans">This is not a place of honor.</blink>
  - m-p-3 7y ago
    As well as some ClipArts to tie it together
pushpop 7y ago
I love the update. That has to be one of the funniest and most creative posts on here I’ve seen in a while. Good work

tluse 7y ago

As a snus (ab)using Swede, I'd really prefer this packaging rather than the original ones. Classy, Norway!

legohead 7y ago

has a military feel to it, which is perfect for the demographic

wattengard 7y ago

I have two friends who work in grocery shops... They hate it... It takes at least twice as long to find the correct item when customers ask for it...

Freak_NL 7y ago
That could be considered an unintended positive feature of the design. Sucks for the retail workers of course in the mean time.
- jacobush 7y ago
  It's actually (sort of) an intended feature. They want to make it harder for the tobacco companies to promote their products.

laydn 7y ago

I think they should make the cigarette packs in bright rainbow colors. I think visual and color complexity is more of a turnoff compared to solid colors.

tomlong 7y ago
I would think there is a concern about what might be considered attractive to children, not really designed to put off adults with a developed sense of aesthetic, who are already users.
- elldoubleyew 7y ago
  Agreed. These designs are serving their purpose, to deter children. The general theme in these comments is that these designs look too modern or up-class. The reason it looks like this is because its a product for adults, children generally don't appreciate this kind of design so I would imagine this works pretty well.

jeen02 7y ago

you snus you lose

colordrops 7y ago

To be fair at least it probably doesn't appeal to younger people. The minimalist sensibility is kind of acquired with age.

Arn_Thor 7y ago
Oh but it does

TeMPOraL 7y ago

Yup. Total failure. In fact, I'd like all products I buy to have this design (+/- different colors). I know it's untenable in practice, but in my perfect imaginary utopia, products on shelves would have minimalistic (and standardized) packaging with no branding crap, and the labeling would be maximized for utility. Product type and core variables (e.g. "milk" and "UHT 2%") in large font, ingredients, nutrition table and manufacturer/expiry date in small font below or to the side. Like e.g. this bottle: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BAoadypFBQ4/maxresdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BAoadypFBQ4/maxresdefault.jpg. Every now and then, some company releases a product run with similar minimalistic packaging; when I spot it in the store, I tend to buy it just for the packaging. EDIT: Come to think of it, I feel like calling bullshit on the whole "ugly color" idea. What color is actually perceived by a human depends on a lot of factors, like material, texture, lighting, shadows - or in case of digital reproductions, color capabilities and calibration of the display. Case in point: on my half-decent display, this Norway snus looks premium to me, not ugly. And in a physical store, I bet the vendors set up the colors of the lights on a shelf to maximize that premium feeling. If you want to go for maximum effect, you need to take something that the brain can't just interpret differently because the light slightly changed. E.g. visceral colors + texture. Or the usual shots of tumors, like on cigarette boxes in some countries. If I wanted to go for maximum effect, I'd mandate that the packaging should contain large photos of: a tumor, a spider, and a lotus seed pod. This would be sure to scare off a good chunk of the population (don't Google lotus seed pods if you're not ready to risk a very unpleasant feeling).

fho 7y ago
As always ... a relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/993/ https://xkcd.com/993/
- aembleton 7y ago
  Looks very much like No Frills which was the own brand of Kwik Save, a now defunct UK supermarket. All very much in this style https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dzru1pPW0AE8aDF?format=jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dzru1pPW0AE8aDF?format=jpg&name=...
7y ago

semi-extrinsic 7y ago

Anothe fun fact: these are perfect cases for small electronics projects. They have a small and a large compartment, where you can fit e.g. an ESP or Arduino Nano and a battery in the big one, and a click switch and an LED in the small one. The latter has a flexible lid, so you can work the switch just by clicking the lid. Completely innocuous WiFi snoop box, or FastLED controller, or a million other things.

Igelau 7y ago

It's ugly on a white background because it looks like a turd. However, when it's the background it looks nice and organic.