From the Publisher

A Global Design Community

By Christopher Lyons

Our global community keeps getting smaller, and package designers like yourself look to gain inspiration from wherever possible. The March issue of Package Design Magazine plumbs the depths of global markets in several categories, but particularly in can designs, to discover ideas that might translate across borders. We all know that the balance between universality and regionality is a delicate one.

In this month's Designer's Corner column, Ronald de Vlam shares his experiences on how to cultivate creativity, and how to transfer great ideas from one project to the next. In our Global Trendsetters feature, you'll learn that Paris is a hotbed of package designs that impact luxury markets globally. Our French correspondent details how French design "specificity" strives against global design forces that are moving toward uniformity. To this I say: Vive le difference!

This month's cover story tells how the Del Monte brand retains California's Gold Rush days in the gold trim of its eternal "shield." Del Monte's internal package development teams approach each new line of products with an appreciation of their strong history in cans. In aluminum aerosol can production, European and U.S. companies enjoyed an strong demand for their products in late 2005, due to innovative shaping technologies and the competitive advantage from increased tinplate prices.

In package design these days, it's a small world after all. We hope that you find these discoveries as inspirational as we do.

Enjoy!

Chris Lyons
Publisher