Design Evaluation

Although I have never tried either of these products, I was intrigued by both designs.

Good Design

If I were in a store, this can would immediately grab my attention. The contrast between the bright neon color which wisely represents the flavor of the cider and the white that illustrates the winky face is entertaining. The different color in lettering makes the winky face stand out. In a world that can communicate strictly through emojis, I think the winking smiley face is creative and appeals to a younger generation, who I think would be the intended audience for purchasing hard cider. Also, the winky face hints at the containment of alcohol without actually saying it until you look and read the fine print.

The law of Pragnanz or reality reduced into its simplest form, is illustrated because it’s just the word cider turned sideways which happens to create the winky face. Although there is a horizontal line that breaks the can in half, Gestalt’s law of continuity is presented by the vertical line that the word cider makes up the can that unites the two halves together.  

Bad Design 

This can is dull in comparison to the one above. The contrast between the background color green helps reflect the white lettering of the brand name. As a consumer, this isn’t visually appealing, especially the picture of Jack (I assume). The text on the can hopes to provide some context to the history of the product, but I personally wouldn’t bother reading it.

This can represents the law of Pragnanz because I think this is as simple as it gets where the title clearly reflects the product. The law of similarity, or items that are similar grouped together, is illustrated by having the picture represent Jack as well having the text close to bring the story together.