Thoughts on cereal.

So I was thinking of fun, self-initiated design projects (the list is lengthy), and I thought cereal boxes.

What other product in the grocery store has the same billboard size and stature? Standing proud on the shelves, cereal boxes: you are a design dream.

…laundry detergent boxes are a close second place. They’re pretty stout and drenched in day-glo colors, but they can’t compete with the cartoon characters and milk explosions that can be found on the breakfast aisle.

So…I took my sketchbook and camera to Albertson’s to study the cereal aisle. SPOILER ALERT: I was eventually asked to not photograph the products: so I left. I felt like I was in a fine art museum sneaking photos of the merchandise. “Umm, excuse me sir, you can’t photograph Tony the Tiger.”

And now my observations in no particular order:

Healthy Hierarchy: 5 shelves of cereal: the lowest shelf is the least healthy. this is where you’ll find the most cartoon characters. (eye level for tots) Top shelf = Cardboard in a box.

Color=Brand: with all the visual clutter of the cereal aisle, one the most effective ways to stand out is to shout your color. Yellow is Pops. Softer yellow is Cheerios. Orange is Wheaties (the only cereal to feature a full head-to-toe person). Red is Fruit Loops. Brown means chocolate. Purple/magenta is Raisin Bran. In the time I was on the aisle, 2 customers bought Raisin Bran. A young attractive lady bought Special K which leads me to my next point>>>

Special K = Sexy: Special K is doing a great job of marketing their product to people (mostly women) that want to be/stay sexy. Their logo (the Red K, which looks a bit like a shapely silhouette working out in a track suit (maybe this is just my imagination)) is the most stand-out logo on the whole aisle. Red K, white box, a little bit of cereal, that’s it. What other cereals are pushing their cereal on a specific demographic other than kids and people with cholestoral issues?

Kellogs design > General Mills: On the top of almost every cereal box now, the companies tell you what vitamins and minerals are contained. Kellogs has that info contained in little non-obstrusive pennants hanging from the top of the box. General mills has that info in a awkward lime green rectangle. That steals away from the overall impact of the brand color.

Bagged cereal = sad: I don’t doubt its the same product, and definitely much cheaper, but these amorphous lumps don’t stand a chance. Why can’t these bags be hung so that they’d have more shelf presence? -segue’-

Why do store brand cereals look inferior: Albertson’s design strategy is to replicate it’s competitor’s design. I haven’t studied a Publix cereal aisle yet, but I’d bet that they opt for the clean Publix aesthetic.

There isn’t a standard box size? Some are slimmer. Others are taller. Is there a cereal box golden ratio?