World landmark designs encourage an ornamental second life for tuna cans

06 May 2020 --- Dongwon Industries has unveiled a limited edition set of tuna fish cans boasting vibrant “around-the-globe” packaging illustrations designed to entice the global consumer. Ten limited edition tins depict global landmarks in a Mondrian-esque, comic book-style design, demonstrating how an artistic touch can turn single-use packaging into coveted collector’s items.

“Sometimes it’s good to take a risk out of the ordinary and look different in a field where I think we are used to more conservative designs. I think it’s something [consumers] aren’t used to seeing on a tuna can, which can be a good thing. I believe [the new cans] will catch the consumer’s eye and stand out as they are bold and colorful – something different overall,” the project’s graphic designer Mike Karolos tells PackagingInsights.

The project began as eight illustrations in a personal creative endeavor, says Karolos, with the Jeju Harbang and N Seoul Tower landmarks additionally drawn up upon Dongwon’s request. These represent the tuna company’s homebase among the other prominent national monuments, such as the Burj al Arab in Dubai, Sydney’s Opera House and the Statue of Liberty from New York City.

Custom designs meet universal application
What helped throughout the process was Dongwon’s clear vision of the project. “Everything went ahead smoothly as the client knew exactly what they wanted, which always helps,” Karolos affirms.Eight out of the ten illustrations had already been made as an individual project.

To customize the original drawings to mass-produce tin cans, Karolos notably had to readjust the size. “My style is quite bold, with thick outlines. If you are not careful, a design like that could look too busy and messy in small sizes. I had to remake all the illustrations making small changes, like less detail in some places, thinner outlines and even redesigning a few areas that I believed wouldn’t look good on a smaller scale.”

“It’s always good feedback to hear people say that they want to keep the packaging,” he concludes. “That’s when I say ‘mission accomplished.’”

Aesthetically pleasing, sequenced packaging is gaining momentum in the F&B industry. Recent examples include LaDiDa’s oat milk latte beverage line that uses its packaging design to indicate what time of the day each latte is intended for consumption. In other redesigns, US beer brewer River Mile 38 also revamped its beverage can labels to number the five different brews, resonating with the heart of the collector and allowing for easy distinguishing between each beer.

By Anni Schleicher

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