55. LaLoo's Goat Milk Ice Cream.

I first came across LaLoo's in the frozen food section at Mollie Stone's (a local, higher-end grocery here in the bay area.) I was curious about goat's milk ice cream and the company's part in the slow-food movement, but was instantly drawn to the packaging (which is quite pleasing, especially when you can see all the flavors in a row. The lighter ones are yogurt.) I think the design is a great example of what you can do on a small budget; using only simple shapes, an appropriate font, and intelligent color selection to create a strong visual identity that stands out on the shelves. When working on a project with a lot of restraints, it's always nice to remember that you can still arrive at an elegant solution and I'm always on the lookout for more and more such case studies. (The longer you do this, the more you realize that there is never an excuse for uninspired work.) This isn't redesigning a national brand or anything, but you can tell the project was given just as much love from the designer.

I know the owner has an advertising and entertainment background but I am still trying to find the person responsible for this understated yet classy solution. Maybe I'll get them to talk about it here, so stay tuned.

As an aside, LaLoo's runs about $8/pint - this stuff is expensive – but where else can you get flavors like Black Mission Fig, Molasses Tipsycake (you can't believe how good this is,) Chevre Chiffon, and Chocolate Cabernet? And you can sleep at night knowing those goats are running free on 350 acres of Sonoma County, CA and probably are fed better than you are.