In response to this post: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/business/media/23adcol.html

While the new (2009) Tropicana package design felt clean and fresh, it did lose a lot of its personality when the familiar imagery was replaced. No one can deny that an orange with a straw in it is a pretty clever way of portraying freshness and purity.

I do applaud the redesign as an exercise/experiment in showing purity and freshness in a different way, but I think what the design gained in clarity, it lost in personality and cleverness. I think Tropicana made a gutsy move, and it definitely got people talking. But package design can be a dirty game. A well-known brand will always have devoted followers, and they don’t like change, whether it’s a good idea or not.

Yes, the design is technically successful in that it clearly shows pure, 100% orange juice. Yes, it works as a clean, fresh design. But it fails to show a sense of humanity. It fails to show a sense of warmth and trust. (I know it’s not exactly supposed to go full-on pathos, but it needs to be a whole lot less cold and sterile.)

I would’ve liked to see them work harder to keep the personality and familiarity of the brand while still keeping that clean, fresh, pure look and feel. That’s what makes a package design great, especially for such a well-known, well-respected, and well-loved product.

That’s just my two cents.