Seattle's Best Coffee Ice Cream: Lettering for Package Design
March 29, 2010
The handsome, overall package design for SBC's ice cream line was created by Hornall Anderson Design Works in Seattle. I was hired to do the flavor names.
If you were to look at these cartons of ice cream, would you be able to tell that the lettering for the flavors was done all by hand? Probably not, as it has a polished, typographic appearance. The art director for this project wanted something more than straight typography for the flavor names on these pint cartons. Small flourishes on the letters, spacing adjustments, and just the right thick and thin balance on each letter created the subtle quality desired to evoke the message that this was a premium grade ice cream.
I began by drawing the letters in pencil, shaping them and finding the right weight. I then inked in the letters, working on them in a size about twice the size of the printed image on the cartons. The most fun part of this assignment was buying one of each of the flavors after they were on the market, and having an ice cream feast with my famiily.
Seattle's Best Coffee is now a subsidiary of Starbucks, Inc. The ice cream is now packaged under the Starbucks brand. One can assume that the ice cream is still outstanding!