Member lesson

Thirty-five by fifty millimetres, four colours, one million copies

Lesson 2 of 20 in Packaging.

Dissecting Indian Matchbox Label Type · TypeWknd

Lesson

Sivakasi, Sattur, Madurai. The best mass-market packaging India has ever produced, and nobody signed it.

A matchbox label on a yellow ground: a blue and green peacock with its tail trailing behind it, the name MOR in green above the Devanagari मोर, the words fifty's safety matches and retail price 25 Ps running vertically up either side, and HONEY MATCH WORKS, SATTUR along the bottom. — A matchbox label with a blue and green peacock on yellow, named in English and Devanagari. The bird is the first thing the eye lands on.Peacock, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

A matchbox label printed in blue and yellow only: a striped tiger walking across a field of sunburst rays, beneath a banner reading INDIAN CAT, with PRICE RE.0.0.6 at the right and SATTUR ORIGINAL MATCH CO. SATTUR along the bottom. — An Indian matchbox label printed in just two inks, blue and yellow. Two flat colours were cheap to print and still read from across a shop.Tiger, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

A matchbox label on a yellow ground: a tall sugarcane plant with a red and white banded stalk and green leaves, the name गन्ना in Devanagari beside it, PRICE RE.0-06 above, a band of blue water at the foot, and THILAGARAJ MATCH WORKS, SIVAKASI along the bottom. — A Sivakasi matchbox label that names its picture in Devanagari. Flat red, green and blue on yellow stay bright even on rough paper.Sugarcane, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

A matchbox label on a yellow ground: a Madurai temple gopuram drawn in brown and gold with red and white striped walls at its base, named in Tamil across the top, safety matches and fifty's price 13 Ps running vertically up either side, and SUNDARAM MATCH INDUSTRIES, MADURAI along the bottom. — A matchbox label showing a Madurai temple tower, named in Tamil. A few strong flat colours on a yellow ground carry the whole picture.Temple, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

All lessons in the four Learn courses
All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

See membership Already a member? Sign in

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

Question 1, locked
Many matchbox labels print the brand name in two scripts. Why, according to the lesson?
- The buyer's language and the trade's language differed
- Two scripts filled the label and looked more expensive
- Printers in Sivakasi charged the same for either script
- The law required every match label to be bilingual
Question 2, locked
On a classic matchbox label, which element does the lesson say is doing more work than any of the drawings?
- The maker's town printed along the bottom
- The price set right beside the name
- The loud ground colour itself
- The fixed frame running around the edge
Question 3, locked
The founder of a pastel D2C brand wants to learn from matchbox labels. What does the lesson say to take from them?
- The animal drawings, since buyers already recognise them
- The thin paper and the hand-pasted finish
- The six-paise price and the fifty-match count
- The system, such as a fixed frame and a loud ground

Unlock the checks Already a member? Sign in

Elsewhere in the library