Thrifty Maid but not Equal

Here we have a box of Thrifty Maid sugar substitute with aspartame, otherwise known as generic Equal. Before I critique the design of the box itself, I must comment on the placement. I nearly missed this display in the grocery store because this one lonely row of blue Thrifty Maid sugar substitute boxes was camouflaged between many rows of Equal boxes.
That being said, it is not easy to decide where to start on the design of the box. When I first saw the box I was confused. Seeing the picture of the large iced tea pitcher along side the glass of iced tea, without any text, one would think the box was full of tea bags. The picture of the tea takes over the box, as apposed to the Equal advertising where the packet of Equal is the focal point. The layout of the box front is very square cold and uninviting. There are few if any curved lines. The curves I do see are in the logo.
That brings me to more bad news. The logo and the diagonal strips look like they’re from 1983. The logo badly needs to be updated and the strips eighty-sixed to fit the look of modern packaging. I’m sure there is more to critique on this box, however I do not have a picture of its backside.

-Natalie Mattox, Package Design