Dairy Affirmations

Established in 1909, the Tillamook County Creamery Association (Tillamook for short) is a farmer-owned, dairy co-operative located in Tillamook, OR, where they have been for the past 110 years. The co-op includes over 80 farmer-owners that together produce cheese, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream, and butter. It operates production facilities in Tillamook and Boardman, OR, employing nearly 900 people throughout the state and its visitor center attracts more than one million visitors each year. Recently, Tillamook introduced a new identity and packaging designed by Turner Duckworth.

I have been receiving tips — more than 50 by now — about this redesign since January. At some point earlier this year I was told there would be some official images to share so I had been sitting on this for a month or more but that hasn’t happened and the tips keep coming in, so I’m posting with a couple of hero shots and the rest are product shots off of their website.

We were inspired by one of our logos from the 1950s, creating a unique, hand-drawn wordmark that is more ownable, and distinct, yet with a nostalgic wink to our past. Our long-standing history as a dairy cooperative owned by real farmers is what makes Tillamook one-of-a-kind, and we wanted to make sure that our legacy was represented in our new logo and packaging design as well. That’s why our iconic Morning Star ship, built by the pioneers of Tillamook to transport their dairy goods to market, is still included on every package. The new Morning Star icon appears in the form of a weather vane that combines our coastal origins with our farming roots. We are proud of our humble beginnings, and these subtle nods are a way to pay tribute to where we have come from while still representing who we are at our core: farmers, Oregonians, and lovers of all things dairy.

Tillamook new look page

The old logo was the very definition of fine: inoffensive, decently executed, and looking pretty much as you would expect a dairy product logo to look like. The logo and packaging have only been modified in small ways in the last 60 years and they could have stayed the same for another 60 that no one would have complained. The new logo shows that complacency isn’t always the best choice, as the new logo is more interesting, attractive, and enticing. The new script logo is quite nice with its “Ti” ligature and ascending angle. The little ship-weathervane icon works as a nice accent and is more recognizable than the old detailed illustration. The resulting combination of the two elements is not the most innovative or “coolest” but, for a mainstream cheese brand, I would say it’s as sharp as its cheddar.

Knowing how delicious and high-quality our products are, we want to make sure that they stand out to long-time and new Tillamook customers alike. Our new packaging is designed to be different from the many other dairy brands because we’re different. We decided to keep it simple with eye-catching colors and mouth-watering images that show how delicious our dairy products are. Tillamook is a bold brand that takes a stance for the things we believe in, such as Real Food, simple ingredients, and quality products. Now, that passion is reflected in our packaging.

Tillamook new look page

The old packaging was fine too. If there was any major issue with it is that, perhaps, every product looked like it was butter, with that old timey look that makes butter look as if it was just churned by a maiden. It was fine for the most part but, in the 20 years I had been in the U.S. I had never noticed Tillamook’s products — if I have seen it on shelves before it never registered.

The new packaging, now much more consistent across all ranges, is bolder and with more engaging color and type contrasts. A subtle, tone-on-tone arrow on all the different bags, wraps, and tubs, gives the packaging a literal uplifting boost with the logo, nice and big, sitting at the top as your eye is led up to it while scanning all the information on the packaging. Like the logo, it’s not ah-mazing packaging but it’s clean, concise, and colorful.

The blocks of cheese are my favorite part of this project. I recently made it a point to go look for them in the grocery store and they really stand out. To boot, the sharp cheddar variety is pretty damn good.

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Overall, this is a great redesign that manages to make the brand look contemporary but subtly allude to its long history.