A couple months ago, I was stocking up on the essentials (you know…toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.) In stopping in the toothpaste aisle for mouthwash I tended to veer toward the pretty “I Dream of Jeannie”-esque bottle versus my husbands brand of choice. In the shampoo aisle I chose the brightly colored, shapely bottled brand name instead of the generic kind. And in the soap aisle while I did pick my usual soap, that shiny pearlized bottle kept calling my name.
Yes. I was tempted to buy products based on their bottles and packaging simply because they were appealing. I kept laughing to myself during this whole process because the budget minded side of my brain insisted on the budget friendly choices while my giddy designer side of the brain wanted those shiny yet nonessential items to fill my bathroom shelves. Silly? A little.
It also led to a whole conversion with my husband about brand packaging and design where the designer/want-of-all-things-pretty side of my brain lost to logic and that good ol’ budget. 
I filed this experience in the back of my mind until now because it’s my essentials stock up time again and the thoughts of lovely packaged items dance in my head. But this time, I keep thinking that the good ol’ designers at these big brand name companies are doing a great job at enticing the public with their moderate to extensively priced health and beauty products due to their brilliant packaging (I mean come on…the face wash with the pop-out scrubby sponge thingy!? Genius! 
)
In the end we all want those shiny and uniquely packaged items whatever they are…be it a website, a proposal, a folder, a what-have-you. Sometimes we don’t get these lovely little items but sometimes we do and getting those little items is something to smile about.