I agree with Steven Heller, the new Tropicana redesign is a good example of redesigning something to make it boring. Taking away the brand’s iconic imagery — the orange with straw in it — makes the packaging bland, and then I look at the package and think, “The orange juice tastes is bland, like the design.” Seriously, which would you want to drink? Sad!
Images courtesy of The Daily Heller
If you are familiar with brand platforms, you’ve probably noticed that they are often illustrated in a pyramid format, such as the one above.
Because of this, I’ve often correlated the brand pyramid with the Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid, which illustrates a theory proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.
In his paper, Maslow organized human needs on five levels. The lower levels hold the crude needs of basic survival; the top is considered idealistic — a place where many people never get.
In a brand pyramid, the lowest levels are associated with the basics of the brand – they are very feature focused. As you move up the pyramid, the personality of the brand is revealed. Sadly, the top of the brand pyramid is a place where many brands never go and those elements are under utilized.
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