Whilst waiting for a train yesterday I managed to find time to pick up the November issue of Creative Review. I always like to have something to read on the train as it gives me a little less chance of crying from boredom.

This month’s issue has a really handy freebie for designers that use Heidelberg colours in their print work which necessitates the magazine coming in a plastic bag. The plastic bag is in itself pretty cool in that if you put it in hot water it dissolves away to a harmless liquid which can be safely poured away reducing waste and landfill. I like this as it is a new, harmless, waste reducing approach to packaging and I have a certain hatred for needless waste creating packaging (don’t get me started on this subject at Easter).
However, there is one problem with the design of the magazine with the free colour chart in the cool new packaging in that the barcode is on the back of the magazine. This necessitates the buyer removing the magazine from the packaging so the assistant in the shop can scan the barcode. This is an ironic oversight by a magazine that covers good design within its covers.

