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Compass Design Hits "Home Run" With Package Design for Kemps/Marigold Foods Ballpark Malt Ice Cream

Minneapolis (November 27, 2000) - Minneapolis-based Compass Design was selected by Kemps/Marigold Foods to create packaging for its limited edition ice cream, Ballpark Malt.

With the ice cream's name clearly guiding the design theme, Compass designer/partner Mitch Lindgren and his team of designers began brainstorming ideas which would carry the flavor's baseball idea through to the packaging.

"When you stop and think about it, the number of visual cues related to baseball and baseball parks is enormous," says Lindgren. "It could be a game ticket, a pennant, or even the seats or bleachers. But we wanted an image that would be immediately recognizable by anyone with a knowledge of baseball."

The group of designers agreed that the most easily identified items would be those most closely associated with the game: a baseball, a baseball glove, and a team jersey.

"We believed that these three items best captured the essence of the game, so they were what we presented to our client in concept form," says Lindgren.

Excited about the direction Compass had taken, Kemps approved further development of the sketch featuring a traditional, old-style baseball jersey.

"We felt that most consumers probably remember baseball uniforms the way they looked in days past," says Tom Arthur, partner/designer at Compass. "A pin-striped shirt with a button-down front and the team name, in felt, emblazoned across the front. So that's the way we chose to illustrate the uniform on the package."

As is Compass' style, the type for Ballpark Malt was hand-lettered. To get the authentic, old-fashioned feel they were looking for, Compass brought in veteran illustrator Anthony Hillshire of Spectrum Studios to work with Lindgren. "Mitch was able to replicate the cursive lettering found on baseball jerseys during the 1930s, '40s and '50s," says Arthur. And once Anthony filled the lettering with a felt texture which he had scanned in, it was exactly what we wanted."

Kemp's "Ballpark Malt" ice cream is available at selected grocery stores throughout the upper Midwest.

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.