John & John is a range of hand cooked potato crisps made in Britain and exported to Germany by the Hamburg based company Market Grounds. I have not been able to find any information on the agency responsible for the branding or packaging, or whether this was an in-house job but the distinctive use of maritime flags, etched illustration work and bold typography made for a very interesting aesthetic that I felt needed sharing.

As far as I am aware the flags are not direct representations of functioning signals but rather a bold interpretation that gives each variety a very distinctive identity and suitably characterises the more sophisticated and artisan flavours of the range.

The style of the illustrations are reminiscent of pre 20th century zoological studies and add a strange quirkiness that contrasts well with the more minimal and nautical theme. Unfortunately the mixed roots does not carry the same style and suffers slightly from a more generic and straightforward execution.

The mixture of serif and sans-serif typographical choices and raised ‘o’ are classic combinations that resolve the origins of the product and sit well over the bright colours and geometric forms.