JKR

To welcome in the festive season, Penhaligon’s have launched their 2012 Christmas Gift Collection, designed by jkr. Celebrating the brand’s rich heritage in Victorian London, the boxes are inspired by the classic pastime of theatre going. 

‘As always, we gave jkr a very open brief, simply the idea of ‘Musical London’ and they came up with the wonderful idea of a British night at the theatre. This eccentric yet elegant theme allows us to tell our brand story internationally.’ Sarah Rotheram, CEO, Penhaligon’s.

‘The theme was explored in many different ways, but we were all really excited by the idea of musical theatre. Going to the theatre is such an English tradition at Christmas. This allowed us to communicate a festive feeling whilst delivering decadence and opulence of a bygone era’ said Jovan Buac, Account Director, jkr.

Each box in the collection tells the story of a Victorian production, revealing everything from the performance on stage through to the people in the audience. Every character plays a role in bringing the story to life, from the musicians in the orchestra pit to the family of Penguins seated in the rafters. Every time you look you discover something more.

‘We wanted every box to reveal the magic of the theatre, uncovering all the aspects of the experience and the interesting and unusual characters you might see on the night. This year’s collection was all about delivering rich details, with the ornate finishes and embellishments providing a really premium feel,’ says Matt Gilpin, Design Director, jkr.

As with previous years, a key aspect of the design process was considering how the boxes would be presented in store. This led to the creation of a stackable structure to facilitate the story-telling nature of the boxes; the orchestra pit, dress circle and the gods creating an eye-catching display to engage with busy Christmas shoppers.

The collection is printed on a matt soft touch paper, which provides a fantastic background for the bright gold and zesty colours. ‘As always with Penhaligon’s, we try to stay faithful to the tradition of the brand but give a hint to the modern. This collection combines hand-illustrations with bolder colourways to achieve this feeling,’ Matt Gilpin, Design Director, jkr.

‘The theatre felt like a very fitting theme for Penhaligon’s: unconventional and opulent, whilst also avoiding the clichés of the season. We’ve had a wonderful reaction from our retail partners globally and from our customers in store.’ Emily Maben, Head of Global Marketing, Penhaligon’s.

As it’s Halloween, we thought we’d share a few of our more spooky pack designs. From a Frankenstein Monster Fancy to creepy crawly Penguin packs, things are not quite as they seem in the supermarket aisle this October…

Click here to download the answers…

Inspired by the essence of an eccentric English Garden, Penhaligon’s are set to launch their latest fragrance Peoneve, with packaging designed by jkr.

“Peoneve was all about breaking with convention. We wanted to create a modern take on a floral fragrance, which could play on the seductiveness and sensuality of the flowers of Rose and Peony and break away from traditional associations.” Sarah Rotheram, CEO, Penhaligon’s.

The idea of an English garden in full bloom delivered a real source of inspiration for the design. By focussing on the beauty of the Peony rose at the heart of the fragrance, the design came to life through the colours, scents and dramatic shapes of this decadent flower.

“To capture the essence of this fragrance, the exquisite nature of a Peony rose in full bloom was the direct inspiration. The bold illustration and delicate typeface combined with the striking colours allowed us to break with convention and deliver a real sense of modernity.” Matt Gilpin, Design Director, jkr.

In order to move beyond the graphic representation of the flower, we used soft touch papers to replicate the feel of Peony petals, while the rose illustration was lifted with a gloss finish. This provided real tactility, enabling the design to appeal to people’s wider senses.

“For the packaging we knew what we didn’t want – anything too pretty or clichéd. An English country garden is filled with beautiful colours and tumbling patterns of leaves and florals. But we wanted to extract a different memory, that moment when you nestle into the bloom of the flower. The plum background and feel of the paper delivers this rich story. We are delighted with the final packaging.” Sarah Rotheram, CEO, Penhaligon’s.

“The design is bold and simple. The hit of hot pink really replicates the robust and exhilarating smell of the fragrance” said Jovan Buac, Account Director, jkr. “Using an illustrated Peony helps nod back to the Penhaligon’s craft and heritage, but overall the design evokes a modern reinvention of a rose based scent.”

To celebrate this launch, the new fragrance will be brought to life on the Fifth Floor Terrace at Harvey Nichols with the creation of a multi-sensory garden. This unique installation will include a cocktail and dessert menu inspired by the Peoneve fragrance. For more information on how to attend, please read here.

Peoneve has also been ranked No.9 in Vogue‘s list of Dressing Table Beauties, 2 months after launch. Full details can be found here.

This month sees the launch of newly designed packaging for Lyons cakes. Briefed to explore and celebrate the brand’s rich heritage, the new look plays back to its famous history of teashops and its waitresses from the 1890s.

With a long-standing tradition for ‘proper’ cakes, the brand was renowned for its nippy waitresses serving up affordable tea and cake to the masses. Having lost its way over the years, the redesign focused on communicating the brand’s story in a relevant and contemporary manner.

“The new design gave us a chance to transform Lyon’s, rediscovering the wonderful heritage that made the brand famous in the early 1900s. We decided to hero the nippy waitresses at the heart of the teashops to deliver personality & heritage, balanced with a vibrant colour palette to create a sense of modernity for the brand.” Laurence Hunnex, Senior Designer, jkr.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the new look Lyons packaging. At a time when every brand is claiming some kind of heritage story, Lyons has a genuinely fascinating past, having been baking cakes since 1894. The new design taps into this rich Lyons history for inspiration, making the range look much more enticing and providing real stand out on shelf.” 
Dean Lavender, Brand Manager, Premier Foods.

The new packs are launching this month so look out for those waitresses in store.