Packaging surrounds us and is something that we all constantly interact with, whether it’s peeling a banana, popping the top on a can of Coke, or unsheathing a bottle of decadent perfume. Packaging has always been engineered to create and impression and memorable experience. Think of the first time you brought home a brand new Lego set from the toy store; the picture on the box already inspiring the multitude of worlds you were about to create, just waiting for you to rip it open and dive in.

As brands multiply and breed, they shout louder to grab our attention. It is rare to find beautiful packaging that employs unusual forms, materials, typography, and illustration that can make us covet what is preciously protected inside. The new book, Boxed and Labelled from Gestalten, is chock full of design-empowered-packaging-porn. They cover topics and trends including environmentally friendly design, the return of “old fashioned” design, minimalism and modularity. Work from some of our favorite studios is featured: The Kingdom Animalia from enormouschampion, Pirate Supply Store products from Office, and Blossa Glögg from BVD. We’ll continue to peruse the eye candy quite happily, thank you very much.