Once up on a bit of brain candy...
Confession: I have a sweet tooth for all things related to good design, branding, and well, candy itself! On second thought, this news probably did not come as a surprise to anyone, but I was recently and delightedly shocked to discover an article from PRINT magazine, focusing on the evolution of candy store brands.
Like the dessert menu at any restaurant, the subject caught my eye as I once devoted almost a year of my life to a student branding project focused on injecting charitable marketing into a popular candy brand. You can see my project, which became my master’s thesis, here. Go ahead, I’ll wait...
You back? Great!
Now, I encourage you to grab a chocolate bar or a handful of gummy treats before you dive in to this quick-read with fabulous imagery dating back to the 1950’s. Who remembers the ever-so-tempting BRACH’S Pick-a-Mix Candies display in the grocery aisle? This piece will take you back to that experience before sugar-rushing ahead to today’s refined brands like Dylan’s Candy Bar and Sugarfina, both of which admit their target audience is actually much older than you might expect when you think of a kid in a candy store.
From nostalgic, hand-wrapped treats to more modern, irreverent options and sometimes even ostentatious candy designs, sweet brands have evolved alongside the palettes of those filling their stores and ordering piles of the sweet stuff online. Take a walk down (candy-land) memory lane or scout the new brands for your next candy obsession as you note the sleek, sans-serif typesetting used in logos then and now. Savor the use of color blocking - both in the 50's and today. See how the color palettes have come full circle while packaging has made drastic updates. It’s fabulous to realize the more things change, the more they really stay the same - both in design and the products themselves. It’s even more fun to notice this while enjoying a bit of candy.