No Warning Necessary.

I bet when you saw the images associated with today's blog you thought "Oh, this is going to be all about package design."

And you would be right...if today just wasn't so darn nice out. Or if I hadn't noticed one little fact about the pictured items.

You see, I got my start in graphic design by being a package designer. For the first 8 years of my career, that was my main focus and I LOVED it. I concentrated on package design whilst in school and couldn't stop myself from redesigning and rebuilding even the most common household packages. Can I tell you just how pleased my mom was when she would open the bathroom medicine cabinet to find all her beloved brands repackaged in Madcow Designs originals? Trust me, I'm a trip to have around.

Anyway. Even though my main concentration has shifted slightly from packaging, I'm still intrigued by it. And when I found the pictured lacing pin packages I was thrilled. Originally I intended on writing a whole blog dedicated to the design and production of each piece.

Then, as I was gathering my thoughts, I noticed 2 things. One, today is 68 degrees and sunny. A first after a many snowy and rainy day here in South Jersey which is thus causing me to want to be outside. And two, there is one significant item missing from these packages and it made me smile. Obviously people that lived during the time these packages were designed were way smarter than us. They could make it through life without someone telling them that salt was bad for them. Trans fat most likely wasn't even a term and they knew better than to eat paste. THESE PACKAGES SPORT NO WARNING LABELS.



That's right kids. No dire warnings about throwing these pins at others, leaving them lying around in cribes or swallowing them. One package doesn't even have instructions. The person that bought this item knows what they are for and won't be reattaching their shingles with them or giving them to the cat to play with...although technically they could be used for light woodworking. They must have had hardier turkeys back in the day.

According to a quick search online, the E.H. Tate Co (makers of both items pictured) was bought out by The Newell Company in 1969. It does not say whether or not the Tate name was incorporated into the Newell name, but for the sake of it being Friday and me being silly, I'm going to say thus: Thank you E.H. Tate and Company for producing 2 lovely packages that have withstood the test of time (and several kitchens) and for realizing that the American populace was intelligent enough to know what to do and not to do with your lacing pins.

In conclusion, I am left wondering what exactly happened around 1969 to cause the winds of change to blow in on consumer packaging and dumb everything down? Can we blame it on Nixon? The Vietnam war? Or hippies? Whatever the true reason maybe, I might never know. Until then I'm off to go enjoy the outside as soon as I velcro up my shoes, wash my hands with antibacterial cleanser and grab my bicycle helmet.