When you think of sports, probably the last thing you think about is art or the freedom of expression. You probably think about the high energy. The excitement. The competition. The sweat. The blood. The tears. All of these tend to be associated with sports, from the most physical ones like football, to the least physical ones like golf. But art and sports are not mutually exclusive. Far from it, in fact. Just look at skateboarding.

Never have we seen a sport so closely linked to art as the skateboarding community. It’s a bit odd, because when you think of athletes, you might think of the stereotypical “dumb jock” and not of an “exceptional artist.” In that sense, you have to give your respect to the skateboarding community–without creativity or artistic freedom, skateboarding would probably be just seen as another crazy competitive sport. As it stands, it is also a powerfully creative force.

Skateboard Art

There’s a belief that skateboarding was a spin off of surfing culture; the guys want to ride the waves when there weren’t any waves, so they ended up shortening the board and putting wheels on them to ‘surf’ the streets. Of course, eventually, it evolved into less of a spin off and more of it’s own thing–it’s own community, that started to become popular in the 70′s and 80′s. From then to now, people had a real connection with their craft–it wasn’t just another thing to be good at, it was an extension of themselves and what they liked to do.

The ever growing popularity of the culture is great and as artists, it’s tough not to pay attention. Skaters have these great connections to their boards. They are aware that their board is part of them and they treat it as such. One of the most important things to a skater about their board is often the art on it. Most of the time skaters try to get a skateboard with art that relates to them or they customize them to continue to be a reflection of the individual.

This culture is built around, and promotes, creative individuals. Whether it’s by adding stickers to their boards, designing it in Photoshop or painting on them with acrylics or spray paint, skateboard art is a force to be reckoned with. There are some amazing things seen on skateboards that one couldn’t even fathom for canvas. Skateboard art and skateboard culture go hand in hand. Here are some examples of some great skateboard art from individuals and companies.

Art on Board

Zombunny by Klownhed

049: 112.1 by HateFuel

Rose Garden by YASLY

Bold is Beautiful by Jeff Finley

Buddy by Icanady

Eureka’s Castle Village Skateboard by David Diliberto

Dead Heart Skateboard by OptimusDesigns

Death is so Near by NOF ArtTherapy

The Exact Moment by Chuck Anderson

Gun Deck Skateboard by OBX Russell

Places You Can’t Imagine by Chuck Anderson

Rail Gun by Kiran-X

Retrocks – Board Collection 2 by JKohohen

Rihanna Skateboard by Artistlsak

Sk8 by God of Insects

Skate Branding by ChickenChild

Skateboard by FairyTale Thriller

Skateboard by Funeral Edition

Skateboard by Kitten-Nyo

Skateboard by Sir SiriX

Demon Hunter Skateboard by Stephen Tian

Skateboard Design 002 by Broken Brain Designs

Skateboard Design 4 by Tyra WM

Skateboard for Popdeck by TheHermitDesign

Skateboard Update by UnDead Amy

Spray Candle Skate Deck by Gwaraddict

Vector Skateboard Deck by Alvaro93

Wolf or Whale by Katie Major

Wood Morning Decks by Artendrju

Fierce Skateboard by Luis Diaz Artist

Conclusion

Skateboarding is really a sport like no other, one that promotes creativity and free thinking. It has sometimes blatantly, and other times silently, influenced many other cultures, especially in the realms of music, fashion and art. When one gets past the stereotype that the sport is for punks who are up to no good, it’s really easy to appreciate not just the physical and technical sport, but the art form. How do you feel like skateboard art and culture have influenced you?

(rb)

Packaging is considered to be one of the main influences in the marketer's world, instantly forming the first impression. It also helps determine the initial success of the product, since customers are accustomed to making instant decisions. Thus, the more memorable the package designs are, the better the chances that the merchandise will end up in the cart. And when you are depending on the attractive outer shell, artistic package designs definitely run the show.

The clear advantage of creating illustrative packaging is that it will definitely stand out among other products on the shelf. Another great advantage is that people instinctively believe that the sophisticated and artistic cover brings with it a higher quality of product. But creating visually appealing design, packed with illustrations is not the easiest approach. Not everyone can rise to meet this particular challenge, providing customers with finely balanced design that reveals both the creative side of the designer and the essential aspects of the product.

The collection below showcases excellent examples of fully illustrated package designs that captivate with their originality and creativity, all the while providing the customers with all the necessary information.

Industrial Makeover

1. Burnt Sugar. At first glance the design has 3 memorable things which immediately catch the eye: bright, almost toxic background colors, radically different illustrations for each package and mind-blowing typography. This product is aimed not only to satisfy hunger cravings, but also intended to bring an aesthetic pleasure to the customer.

2. Active Packs uses an unconventional approach to drawing your attention to the various advantages and useful properties of the product by filling all available space with hand-written inscriptions and visual images.

3. Kiss. Unlike the two previous examples that are packed with abstractions, this one focuses only on a single illustration of a specific object, covering every part of the package.

4. Saturday Night Live: The Game perfectly utilises the approach of “the more, the better”, heavily applying character illustrations, catchphrases and rules. The package design serves two purposes. First, to make the game easy to understand to customers before buying it. Second, to convey the emotions and joy that are hidden inside the box.

5. Absolut Watkins is a really complex design that takes every detail into account. Affiliated with the famous Swedish illustrator, the bottle cover calls on fashion by using stylish figures and trendy colors. Moreover, the illustration has a clue where to buy this product that is hidden in the image of the airport.

6. Fisheye Black beautifully combines black and white abstract illustrations and colorful image installations, invoking mixed feelings.

7. Laranja Mecânica is a great example of how to properly use only two classic colors, black and white, in order to force the product to jump off the retail shelves. Although, the high density of illustrations makes the package looks a bit messy.

8. Interpack 2011 Exhibition Concepts uses monochromatic illustrations throughout these to-go carrying containers, presenting objects of everyday life that together tell the story of one girl.

9. Taste of Yellow Chocolate has an amazing background that is filled with yellow drawings that perfectly pop against a black canvas.

10. Penhaligon's X’mas Gift 2011 is fully illustrated gift wrap that brings a note of a traditional British feel. With an illustration of classic a brick building as the core identity element on the front side and artistic drawings typifying the short stories on the back, the packaging arouses the vague feeling of British quaintness.

11. Mari Vanna, in contrast to package design No. 7 that also uses only black and white colors, this one has the perfect combination of a pure white background and elegant, clean black illustration.

12. Good Ol' Sailor Organic Vodka effectively utilizes a maritime theme, providing the design with a range of vivid pictured marine inhabitants.

13. Tesco Standard Plus Cakes calls on sweetness, using a gentle color scheme and astonishing typography throughout the whole package.

14. Brains ‘n Bones comes up with an engaging and quite radical solution, creating frightening illustrations of zombies that, at first push you away, but then attracts with skillful execution and enormous attention to detail.

15. Burger King Global Packaging is the kind of design that you don't see very often in the restaurant industry. Hand-drawn illustrations of the food and abstract interpretations of the beverages make the restaurant not only a pleasant place to eat, but also the place to boost your inspiration.

16. Moonstruck Chocolate has an amazing handcrafted nature illustration with a slight fairy touch. The embossed effect that is used to give the wrapper a more three dimensional look, emphasizes the beauty of the composition and creates a multi-sensory experience.

17. Captain Ahab gives the impression of a worn-out, slightly dirty packaging, which is obtained by leveraging the old-style typography with a warm colored, noisy background and abrasive illustrations.

18. Simone Fuchs Tea creates something of a fluid brand with its diversity amongst the package designs. Each product has its own unique, but at the same time similar, scratchy nature-inspired illustration, complemented with a rough typography peppered background.

19. Five Point Art Supplies uses awe-inspiring graffiti graphic elements to deliver their message. Hand-rendered typography together with bright colorful ribbons are intended to show artists the right way.

20. R3 Stories reimagines classic book covers. The brand uses comic style typography, old-school illustrations and a dingy textured background. To further the packages’ engagement with personality, every book cover has its own unique and memorable design.

21. Absolut London allows the consumer to dive into the world of London chic. The bottle is decorated with complex illustrations with a predominant use of a muted red and blue palette. The illustration represents 7 different characters, that by means of facial expression and distinctive appearance, tries to embody various fashion eras.

22. Naturade uses a bold and simple combination of typeface and abstractions in their packaging. It is a great example of the accurate implementation of vibrant textile textures and condensed graphic elements.

23. What On Earth. Despite having a simple round label that is not too different or has that enviable of typography, the overall design captivates with its background illustrations. The rough hand-made pictures of the organic world that are beautifully incorporated into the package design demonstrates the main purpose of the goods, and make it complex and attractive.

24. Moloko. The designer has done an amazing job building an identity that is noticeable. The regular milk package plays into a new vibe through the reproduced picturesque urban scenes made in 3 different color palettes.

25. Friggs Rice Cake relies heavily on traditional abstractions of nature and the countryside. With nothing superfluous, the package looks really sophisticated and vibrant, driving home the message of clean and simple food.

26. Paw Ridge is a most impressive printing, that is upscale without being snooty. The illustration, made in a natural style, consists of fictional characters that make the product adorable by evoking childhood memories. It is a great example of how small package illustrations can send powerful messages.

27. Rhythm screams urban art deco style by means of simply pictured inherent attributes of modern youth. Despite having a heavily illustrated background, the simple bold typography is well set and really speaks volumes about the product.

28. How Stuff Works Box Sets is another example of a heavily illustrated package design. With the use of muted colors and monochrome illustrations, tightly placed on the box surface, the design conveys a warm experience.

All for Now

As you can see, sometimes creating packaging designs can be the perfect solution to convey the brand essence, and establish a connection with customers on an emotional level. All the examples represented above have unique and catchy packages, that will definitely come get noticed. Now it’s your turn. Tell us which package designs excite you the most? Which brand, in your opinion, has the most engaging and revealing design? Sound off, we are eager to hear from you.

(rb)