Pearlfisher designs for Woolworths South Africa

The South African retailer's food operation covers more than 150 lines including tinned foods, cereals, snacks products and drinks.

The London agency was briefed to make the design "modern, elegant, fun and confident", while keeping in touch with its South African roots.

The design was based on three key simple curved shapes inspired by nature, which move and change according to the product. On boxed and tinned goods where the product is not visible through the packaging, the ellipses contain product shots. On bagged products such as rice and pasta, the ellipse is a window, while it is colour-coded on jars for products such as mustard. On drinks and jams, the ellipse is a graphical representation of a specific fruit.

Pearlfisher creative director Shaun Bowen said: "The design is simple, yet stylish and flexible enough to adapt to a variety of treatments across each of the pack formats. There is an element of playfulness in the design that reflects its confidence and the sophistication of its audience."

Woolworths was established in Cape Town in 1931 and now has 300 stores in South Africa and through its overseas franchise partners in Africa and the Middle East. It is not related to the Woolworths retail group familiar to UK citizens.

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