For the love of Italian design

THERE is something about Italian packaging design that makes me sigh. It's gorgeous. I can't think of any other country that has a history and tradition of such beautiful packaging. I attribute the global popularity (and successful commercialization) of traditional Italian products not simply to good quality (clearly other nations produce good quality products too), but to their beautiful and timeless design that has always captured and offered a feeling and taste of the good life. This isn't limited simply to foodstuffs, but extends to all facets of commercial and product design. I have been studying and cross examining numerious images of traditional Italian products and packaging, to identify what key elements transcend all of the items - clearly it's the work of different designers who all manage to, in some way or another, create the same effect. Of course, other than the use of classical typefaces and very little (if any) "white space", the traditional Italian (flag) colours of deep crimson red and emerald green are unanimously popular among Italian designers. Oh, la dolce vita, indeed ...