MUSEUM OF BRANDS, PACKAGING AND ADVERTISING | FMP

Today I visited the Museum of brands, packaging and advertising in Notting Hill, London. As my Final Major Project is mainly focused on branding, I decided to visit this place to look for an inspiration and also because I never heard of it before. However their website does not look too new and intuitive, the exhibit is located in a really nice building in a fabulous area of London. 

When I got in, the first gallery was about packaging. It immediately looked a bit like a huge collection of old 'stuff' to me but some of it, especially the most recent one, brought back some memories. I could recognise products and toys I used to play with when I was young. I really enjoyed walking through that space as it was packed with any sort of toys, healthcare products, food packaging, home appliances, etc. What caught my attention was the huge difference in terms of style and design between the 50s, for example, and nowadays. Posters, adverts, logos and images, in general, were much more illustrative and drawn compared to what we see now. Today's design is much more flat, clean and in some ways less sophisticated as we tend to minimalise and modernise it.

Museum entrance. Author's own.

Advertisement posters from the 50s. Author's own.

First 'Quality Street' packaging. Author's own.

The part of the museum I preferred and got the most out of was the one about Advertising. Towards the end of the gallery, there is a small part dedicated to the history of advertising. I spent a good half an hour in the same room looking at posters, videos and other material. I felt some real interest while reading facts about the brand Johnnie Walker and its techniques of promotion. I found the design of some posters from the late 90s (image below) really interesting and intriguing.  

Johnnie Walker's campaign. 

What I found interesting is the interaction and connection between the different posters. They are meant to be a series which could potentially tell a story about the brand or the product itself. The use of colour is really eye catching as well thanks to the contrast between black and yellow. This piece could influence the design of the posters for my FMP. 

Other than this last series of posters, I did not really find anything else inspiring during my visit. Nevertheless, I highly recommend visit this museum as it is rich and a bit nostalgic. The cafe area in the back yard is an amazing and intimate corner where to share ideas and have a drink with friends.

😊🏻🏻🏻👌☕️