something to get you rockin on the last week of the year.

packaging

[image: loyal luxe]
if you have cats, then you know that as soon as a box is around, they’re inside it. these little cat houses & cabins are so cute, i think mine would have a ball playing in them.

if you love packaging, take a look at this colorful, type-forward series from muse perfumery. so enticing!

something we don’t talk about enough in packaging, however, is waste, and i think marian bantjes’ piece for design observer explains my wrap rage really well: plastics: an apoplexy.

wine

[image: thedieline.com]
sometime in september, i was up in san francisco, walking home from dinner on my cell phone, when i dropped into a liquor store to buy a bottle of wine. distracted by my call and less familiar with napa wine than most points south, i scanned the shelf forever and then decided that this fascinating label for bear flag wine had to be a sign. i bought it, i drank it, i planned to photograph it, but i didn’t, and then i took home the empty bottle, and it sat on a shelf for 2 weeks, when i finally decided i would just let it go. but then—here it is on the dieline, and it reminded me, it was an awesome piece of illustration & package planning. the bear flag site is pretty awesome as well, and i give them a pass on using flash, because they’re using it well.

typography

[image: thedieline.com]
you probably think you don’t need this serif bag, but face it, you probably do. profiled on
thedieline.com.

design industry

it’s right around the corner, the AIGA 2010 fellows will be celebrated a touch past 2010. AIGA Fellows 2010: Speakeasy at the Palihouse on january 20! buy tickets today!

design sponge’s biz ladies will tell you how to plan effective give-aways.

inspiredology looks at how to guide your users eye in parts 1 and 2.

beyond design

[image: serious eats]

2 from serious eats on winter drinks and mocktails just in time for new year’s eve!

this week’s post for LAist doubly surprised me, for one because people seem to really like fennel more than i thought, and for another, i didn’t get ANY anchovy hate! seasonal eats: root-to-flower fun with fennel.