Written and Photographed by: Tracey Lee
introduction Candy is universal. Across the globe, confections adorn the shelves of grocery, drug, and department stores. Sweets are given as gifts on special occasions, as a reward for a job well done, or just as a treat. Ever wonder about the origins of candy? As far back as 1500 BC, ancient Egyptians would add figs, nuts, dates, and spices to honey to make sweetmeats. Today, candy is made from sugar, chocolate, honey, molasses, and a myriad of other ingredients. A variety of ingredients can be found across cultures. Certain spices, fruits, and nuts can be more prevalent in one country versus another. Despite these content differences, the typology and graphics SWEET CAROLINE’S / STILWELL, KS.
of the packaging are virtually indistinguishable. The use of bright colors, logos, type treatments, and relative size are all internationally consistent.
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The globalization of products has brought international
Designers and brand managers face a new challenge. They now have to transcend language and cultural barriers to market their product. One solution is to create a universal look to their type-based logos, and to add image-based elements to aid in communicating their commodity. Theo Leenders, Mars executive, stated “…we felt it was critical to create truly global brands to get the synergies from advertising and promotions.” 1
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confections to many places all across the world.
If you walked into an international grocery store, would you be able to tell which products where candy, and which were not? I went to four stores located in Overland Park, Kansas. Despite any language barrier, it was easy to distinguish which was the candy aisle at each location. Some elements varied from culture to culture, but overall the candy experience was very familiar. In this book, I explore how the typographic and graphic elements found on these packages are used to communicate the universal language of candy.
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chocolate Chocolate is considered the king of candy. Regardless of the price point, chocolate is often perceived as a luxury. This is reflected in its package design. The typography found on the wrappers of these coveted confections is similar to the type treatments given to most candies. The letterforms are typically rounded, and informal. However, high-end chocolates tend take a bit more formal approach to their use of type. The letterforms are more linear than curvy. Thus, projecting the associated luxury and high status of chocolate.
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chocolate
American
Hershey’s chocolate bar is considered an American classic. Its linear and smooth logo is successful in communicating the texture of the candy, and its conceived high status. The luxury associated with chocolate can also be seen in the use of metal foil
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in its wrapper.
chocolate
Japanese
“ In every country where it is eaten, chocolate is the food craved most often.”2 The Japanese Meji chocolate bar also uses metal foil in its packaging. The typeface is very similar to the one used in the Hershey’s brand. Japanese characters are present on the wrapper as well. Notice how the treatment of
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the characters is the same as the letterforms.
chocolate
German
The Ritter chocolate bar from Germany uses a letterform
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logo that evokes even more formality than the previous cultural examples. The typeface used for the Ritter portion of the logo harkens back to blackletter typeforms used in Germany prior to World War II.This form of type was typically reserved for special occasions. This establishes a visual communication
rent logo combines the formal Blackletter qualities with the less formal ones of the Script typefaces.The Sport portion of the logo uses a typeface that ties it to the previous candy bars’ use of typology.
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of the luxury associated with chocolate. The cur-
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Trivia… “Initially, chocolate was packed as unwrapped bars in wooden boxes with paper labels, displayed on the shop counter. Individual wrappers developed soon afterwards…Designs used the latest images, and graphics publicized the desirability of chocolate…As the package, not the contents, occupied more and more of the foreground, so advertising has shifted almost entirely from the taste of confectionery towards style by association.”3
hard candy What is hard candy? It is considered the purest form of sugar. The English word candy is derived from the Arabic word qandi, which means made of sugar. Hard candy is made by boiling sugar and water “…until the concentration of the solution reaches a high level…this solution takes a plastic form and on further cooling becomes a hard, transparent, glassy mass containing less than two percent water.”4
Hard candies on a stick are known as lollipops. “In the 17th Century, as sugar became more plentiful, the English enjoyed boiled sugar candy treats SWEET CAROLINE’S / STILWELL, KS.
and inserted sticks into them to make them easier to eat. Linguists say the term ‘lolly pop’ literally means ‘tongue slap’…”.5
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hard candy
American
A good example of an American hard candy, is the rainbow-swirled-lollipop. The wrapper is made of clear cellophane, which allows the consumer to see the tempting beauty of the candy itself. Bright multicolored swirls of tasty sugar appeals to both children and adults. The elements of the logo mirror the whimsy of this treat.The use of an easy-to-read sans serif typeface, along with a child-friendly graphic
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image, allows the message to be quickly understood.
“In the movie
for this star-like candy.”
hard candy
Japanese
This is a well known Japanese hard candy. Konpeito are small pieces of colored rock candy. In the movie Spirited Away, the little Soot Sprites squealed excitedly for this star-like candy. “The word ‘konpeito’ comes from the Portuguese word confeito, which means a sugar candy. This technique for producing candy was introduced to Japan in the early 16th century by Portuguese traders.”6 The letters of the logo are not as whimsical as those found on the lollipop. They are a bit more formal, and very similar to the letter forms found on the chocolate wrappers.
found this interesting: if the package just used the “formal” letters, I might not have known it contained a sweet treat.The whimsical strokes of the Japanese characters, however, scream candy.
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However, the Japanese characters are very playful. I
hard candy
German
in their native country of Germany, but are also marketed in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan. “The sweet brand is named after the town of Werther in Westphalia, where the company was founded in 1903…The brand name Werther’s Original was adopted in the 1990s for the international market.”7 These treats are a hard butterscotch candy made with real butter and fresh cream. At first glance, the type treatment of the logo seems to be very formal with its use of a serif typeface. However, the stem of the capital “w” in Werther’s has been given a playful swash. This candy is being marketed to an adult crowd, but still wants to maintain its child-like appeal.
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Werther’s Original hard candies are not only available
Trivia… “While we Americans tend to think of candy in terms of supermarket and convenience stores displays, this sweet culinary family offers a much broader and complicated lineage. Food historians propose the first sweets were consumed as a sort of medical treatment for digestive troubles.Today's cough drops and peppermint sticks descend from this tradition.”8
chews The category of soft candy is very broad. It is created in the same manner as hard candy. However, medium to low temperatures are used instead of high heat. Caramels, gum, gummy bears, marshmallows, fudge, and licorice are all considered soft candies. Early physicians used some of these candies, such as licorice and marshmallow, to soothe stomach ailments. Many of us are familiar with the song lyric “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down�. Candy has been used not only as a treatment itself, but also as an aid in the delivery of medicines.
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chews
American
were originally imported to the United States from the United Kingdom. “In 1982, domestic production of Skittles began in the United States.”9 These are a sweet and sour chewy candy that comes in a variety of colors. They are well-known for their slogan: “Taste the Rainbow”. However, the low pH of this sweet, as with many sour candies, can damage the enamel of your teeth. “Your teeth start to dissolve at any pH below 4.0. Some of these candies are below that pH and some of them are very close to battery acid’s pH of 1.0…Skittle’s pH is 2.2.”10 So kids, make sure to brush well after you eat that sour candy! WALGREENS / STILWELL, KS
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It may surprise you to know that the candy Skittles
chews
Japanese
a soft, chewy, slightly lemon-orange flavoring inside... and a wrapper of edible rice paper! The rice paper is clear and papery when dry, but it melts in the mouth as soon as you pop one in.”11 This soft candy comes in a cheerful package adorned with child-friendly graphics.“The candy’s name, Botan (kanji:
, hiragana:
), means “peony” in Japa-
nese. A peony blossom is shown on the label, next to an inu-hariko, a dog-shaped traditional toy for Japanese children.” The amount and size of type 12
on this packaging is minimal. The message to the consumer that this contains candy is mostly driven by the images.
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“Botan Rice Candy is a classic Japanese sweet, with
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chews
German
Hans Riegel, is one of the most prominent manufacturers of sweets (namely fruit gums, licorice, and foam) in the world. The company name is an acronym for ‘Hans Riegel, Bonn’… Haribo’s German catch phrase is ‘Haribo macht kinder froh / und Erwachsene ebenso,’ which translates as ‘Kids and grown-ups love it so / the happy world of Haribo.”
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This package contains a gummy candy called Fruity Pasta. The round, almost balloon-like, letterforms gives the logo a playful sensibility. Once again, cheerful colors, and friendly graphics pair nicely with the typography.
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“Haribo, founded in 1920 in Bonn, Germany by
Trivia… “The term ‘Candy Butcher’ has two meanings.The primary definition is a concessionaire hawking sweets on trains, circuses, state fairs, and movie theatres. It was a popular profession for young boys, who were strong (they had to carry their wares in a large carton/tray hooked around their neck), outgoing (they had to actively promote their wares to make money) and savvy (spot potential customers, make change on the spot). Young Thomas Edison was a candy butcher servicing railroad passengers.”8
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conclusion At your local store, or across the globe, candy is universal. Candy manufacturers have created a ubiquitous community of sweets. They consistently use bright colors, child-friendly graphics, and whimsical
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type-treatments. Even with a language barrier, you will know it is candy. Take a close look at the package design, and soon you will say: “Sweet! There’s candy inside!”
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bibliography
[1] Joel Glen Brenner, The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey & Mars (Random House, Inc.,1999) p.291. www.underconsideration.com
[2] Suzanne Hamlin, “It’s Hard to Ignore Cravings: Researchers Can’t Resist”, The New York Times, Feb. 22, 1995. www.underconsideration.com
[3] Laura Mason, Sugarplums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets (Prospect Books: Devon 2004) p. 207-8. www.foodtimeline.org/foodcandy.html
[4] www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/92513/candy
[5] www.candyfavorites.com/shop/catalog-lollipop-historry.php
[6] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kompeito
[7] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werther’s_Original
[8] www.foodtimeline.org/foodcandy.html
[9] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skittles_(confectionary)
[10] www.wellnessdentalcare.com/653/watch-out-for-these-sour-candys/
[11] www.workldmarket.com/product/botan-rice-candy.do
[12] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botan-Rice-Candy
[13] www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummi-Candy-Fruity-5
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colophon
Typefaces(book): Gill Sans & Archer
Camera & Technical Information: Camera: Canon EOS 60D Lenses: Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm & Zoom Lens EF 24-105mm
Other: Designing as Author, Patrick Dooley, Fall 2012, The University of Kansas.
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