The Seven Deadly Sins of Cabaret

This packaging project is based on a previously created logo suite that explored the relationship between the Seven Deadly Sins and cabaret. Three of the seven final logos, Sloth, Wrath, and Gluttony, were selected to base package designs off of.

The Sloth product is loose leaf tobacco, because cabaret was largely responsible for the success of cigarettes. They were a cheaper alternative to cigars, and specifically popular among artists and musicians.

Wrath is a wine label, connected to the inexpensive wine and spirits provided at cabaret houses.

The Gluttony product is panettone, a sweet bread/cake usually enjoyed once annually around the winter holidays. Cake specifically is seen as a very indulgent dessert, and only having it once a year makes it even more significant. Cabaret offers things that most people do not get regularly, if at all, in abundance, which links the theme and the sin of gluttony.

All three products have a cohesive color palette and similar type applications. The dark red background color was chosen due to the association of red with cabaret and with the concept of sin. Cabaret interiors often featured red velvet couches, red stage curtains, and the iconic Moulin Rouge was topped with a giant red windmill. The text is set in a subtle light blue tone to create high contrast.

The images chosen for each of the packages tie back into the logo for each sin. Wrath, the wine label, features the hands of a magician and cards, while the logo is a rabbit appearing from a hat. The Sloth logo depicts a couch, while the packaging’s image is a woman in heels reclining on a leather couch. Gluttony is the most direct, with both the logo and the image being two glasses raised in a “Cheers!” motion.

The final designs are meant to give the consumer a sense of luxury, indulgence, and sin, with a touch of the cabaret aesthetic and history.