You can’t beat the classic HP sauce bottle design…

In last week’s Voxpop you asked about favourite packaging designs (DW 12 August). My favourite is the reason thatas a child I set my path in packaging design – the classic glass HP sauce bottle.

Was it that it came from Birmingham, the city of our parents? Was it the colours of claret and blue of my then team Aston Villa? Was it the intricate line work of the Houses of Parliament or the story of the ’legendary’ sauce and exotic ingredients listed on the side of the bottle?

Truth is, I don’t know, but from as early as I can remember I knew I loved that bottle and the mysterious dark brown sauce within it (and I still do, and have it with nearly everything). I spent many an early hour thinking, ’What the hell is tamarind extract?’

Ben Harris, Brand development director, Anthem Worldwide, by e-mail