Dieline's Friday Wrap-Up: Seaweed, a Beaut' Of a Boxed Wine From Wedge, and the Greatest Brand Mascot Of All Time?

Seaweed had itself a big week. 

Not only were the winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize announced—all three finalists make seaweed plastic alternatives—but The New York Times got in on the action by publishing a big piece with plenty of bells and whistles (i.e., lots of fascinating video showing how its harvested) documenting its rise beyond its culinary uses. In fact, according to the article, global production has grown 75% in the last decade, and countries like South Korea are having difficulties meeting demand from the West. 

What’s even more interesting is that, despite its promise as a single-use plastic cure-all, this miracle sea crop could be impacted by climate change and warmer waters, and scientists are trying to breed new strains that can grow in these conditions.

Anywho, here are your links for the week.

The Real Dill

Folks will shove dill pickle-flavoring into just about anything, and I approve. Good on you, Frank’s. 

And speaking of McCormick, their line of spices got their first redesign in 40 years.

Mi Ami!

Wedge’s design for boxed wine brand Ami Ami is an early frontrunner for my favorite piece of packaging in this young year we call 2023—just look at those half moons as wine glasses.

Related—I am struck by folks saying that boxed wine is having a moment right now and that it’s starting to get fanci-fied (or in this case, design-afied). That’s great and all, but I also think you can make the argument that this has been happening for years. There are plenty of beautiful brands out there, but it could be that they’re getting a little more helium because of a maximalist aesthetic pendulum swing. Plus, when it comes to curbing carbon emissions, glass is pretty, pretty, pretty heavy, and despite the plastic bag full of chardonnay, they do offer eco-conscious consumers a somewhat climate-friendly alternative.

Meta World Peace

So much for the metaverse, huh? Mark Zuckerberg will lay off another 10,000 workers, dubbing 2023 the “year of efficiency,” although I would probably call it the “year of having no idea what the fuck you are doing.”

Some folks say that the metaverse is dead and that Facebook—er, Meta—is pivoting to AI. I’m not sure that’s entirely true, but can I interest you in this used Oculus headset?

Justice for Lefty

Hi, Company Man here. Just want to remind you that we’re knee-deep in the Dieline’s Mascot Madness, and Division 2 voting STARTED TODAY. Get your ass over to LinkedIn and vote for the greatest brand mascot to ever brand mascot. Yes, it’s the Kool-Aid Man's race to lose, but ultimately, only you have the power to change that.

Midjourney Monthly

Do you really need a subscription to a print magazine featuring Midjourney AI art, even when access to said “art” is free online? Question for the ages, I suppose. Otherwise, it’s $4 a month.

We Goin' Sizzler

According to this new piece from Fast Company, fast-casual eatery Sizzler, aka the place where you score corn nugs, has just undergone a redesign courtesy of TNI Design.

And, hey, it doesn’t look that bad—it looks like any other modestly-priced restaurant where you pay upfront. But I’m not sure about the special callout to a redesigned salad bar because can you ever truly redesign a salad bar? That thing looks like your run-of-the-mill civilian-issue salad bar, even with an improved sneeze guard.

Now, if we’re talking SUPER BAR, that’s another conversation entirely (and feel free to get at me, Wendy's).