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Compass Design Defines "Cold" When Designing Packaging for Kemps/Marigold Foods' New Ice Cream "Below Zero"

Minneapolis (February 9, 2000) - What means cold to consumers? Depending on where they live, it could be rain, snow or simply temperatures falling below 50 degrees F. When Minneapolis-based Compass Design was asked to design packaging for Kemps/Marigold Foods' new "Below Zero" flavor of the month ice cream, Compass knew they needed to focus on the kind of cold known intimately to Minnesotans and others living in the upper Midwest.

Compass designer/partner Mitch Lindgren recognized that in order to capture the essence of the ice cream named the "Official Ice Cream of the Saint Paul, Minnesota Winter Carnival," the package design would need to exude quite a chilly feel. "We began with pencil concepts that said not just cold, but bitter cold. We wanted it to feel so cold, that consumers might think if they touched their tongue to the packaging, it would stick," says Lindgren.

After the initial sketches were completed, each of Compass' four designers came together to review each other's designs. The results? "The concepts were truly frosty," laughs Lindgren. "There were icicles, snow, snowmen, and swirling winds associated with a blizzard. Living in Minnesota, we have the "benefit" of personally experiencing bitter cold each winter, and that was apparent in our concepts."

Because of the tight deadline Compass had to work with - the project was given to them in mid-November and the product was to be on shelves in mid-January - Compass immediately presented their top concept choices to Kemps.

"They were excited about all the sketches," says Julia Hemphill, partner/sales at Compass Design. "But the concept that really caught their eye was the one that depicted a cold winter wind howling across the 'Below Zero name.'" For extra emphasis on iciness, a thermometer registering a temperature of "below zero" punctuates the ice cream's name. The package's color mix of blues, whites and grays also were chosen to reflect the product's coldness.

As is Compass' style, the type for Below Zero was hand-lettered. "Hand-lettering is an integral part of our firms' philosophy," explains Lindgren. "Not only does it allow us to better express the look and feel we want, it also gives each of our client's packages a proprietary look."

Although Compass previously had designed ice cream and ice cream novelty packaging for Kemps, this was the first time they worked with Kemps' new, half-gallon ice cream container shape. "The new shape is oval, has a removable lid and features a wider top and a narrower bottom," explains George Miller, assistant product manager, ice cream. "It was redesigned to modernize the look of the line and to keep the it competitive in the marketplace." Miller added that consumer focus groups found many benefits to the new shape as well.

Because of its unique shape, Compass needed to carefully ensure that the label design followed the lines of the new container. "We were working with curved lines," says Lindgren, "and keeping the type and design as aligned as possible was always a challenge."

Compass Design is a dynamic, Minneapolis-based design office specializing in comprehensive identity and consumer packaging programs for established and growing companies. With its exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable staff, Compass Design strives for integrity and accuracy in its cost-effective, award-winning strategic design solutions. For more information on Compass Design, please contact Julia Hemphill at (612) 339-1595.