Exotic Chocolate Packaging. I LOVE this!

I'm so lazy sometimes that when a book is recommended on reserve at the library (and it looks like a great book), I'll get on Amazon and see if they have any super-cheap copies. That was the case with this book, New Packaging Design by Janice Kirkpatrick. So, I've had the book since last semester, and I'm really glad to own it. There are so many amazing designs for all kinds of packaging, and I have used it for reference many times.

This image is among my very favorites in the book: Chocovic Coberturas Selváticas by Paul Núnez Associats, Spain, 2007. Why? First, my favorite artist from my modern art history class was Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau. I get lost in his work. I love the way he uses line, shape, color, and composition to create gorgeous, dream-like images. It's so sad that he was ridiculed during his life and only after his death was his genius recognized. Anyway, I digress. The illustrations on this chocolate bar packaging remind me so much of Rousseau's work. Actually, after looking through some of his work again, López actually really copied some parts of Rousseau's paintings, but I didn't notice that at first. Also, the book's description states, "The exotic provenance of the cocoas used in these gourmet chocolate bars is expressed through Eva López's Rousseau-esque 'wild forest' illustrations."

I also love this because it's gourmet chocolate packaging! Gourmet chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is one of my life's greatest pleasures, and, unfortunately, could lead to my ultimate downfall. Okay. I'm being dramatic. But really, I'm a chocolate addict (and it can't be Russell Stover or any old cheap chocolate—only the highest quality). 

I just find these illustrations absolutely stunning. In looking at the packaging as a whole, I think it's brilliant; I think the illustrations can attract the consumer without detracting from the text, which is clean and simple with a very clear hierarchy. Great typographical treatment. The colors are bright, cheerful, and exotic, putting one in mind of the lushness of a rainforest or jungle. This, to me, also conveys the message that the chocolate itself is lush, rich, amazing, delicious.

For reference, here is a sample of Rousseau's work–"Fight Between a Tiger and a Buffalo"–to show the similarities.

Sources:
Kirkpatrick, Janice. New Packaging Design. London: Laurence King, 2009. Print. P. 60.

"Henri Rousseau - Fight Between a Tiger and a Buffalo" by Henri Rousseau. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henri_Rousseau_-_Fight_Between_a_Tiger_and_a_Buffalo.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Henri_Rousseau_-_Fight_Between_a_Tiger_and_a_Buffalo.jpg