New Packaging Design by Janice Kirkpatrick (Laurence King, 192 pages, $35). The book features over 80 packaging designs, drawn from all over the world. Each of the packaging designs has a short write-up; several of the most interesting projects get full-on case studies.

Byron Kalet's design for his own Journal of Popular Noise, an audio magazine. When folded, it looks like a record sleeve; open, it contains multiple records and beautifully printed copy.

Sangaria's bottles for Ramune, a popular Japanese fizzy drink. Opening the bottom requires pushing a marble into the plastic top; the marble's then trapped inside the chamber at the top of the bottle. When drunk, the effervescence rattles the marble--thus creating a branded sound that's familiar in Japan.

Wonderwall, a Japanese interiors firm, and Groovisions, a graphic-design firm, brought a high-concept approach to a tissue box for Nepia. Each one looks like a mottled brick; when stacked, they look like a wall. The fluffy tissue contrasts with the industrial-looking tromp l'oeil.

Designer Hazel Selina created the Ecopod coffin with the environment in mind. It's made only of earth-friendly materials, such as papier mache, which readily biodegrades when buried.

Pepe Gimeno designed these rice containers for Sivaris. The tube shape is exceptionally strong for its weight--thus allowing a minimum of materials to contain a maximum amount of rice.

Boxed and Labeled: New Approaches to Packaging Design, by R. Klanten, S. Ehmann, H. Baltzer, S. Moreno. (Gestalten, 288 pages, $65) The book focuses on playful, graphic packaging designs--ranging from silly boxes to containers completely covered in delicate illustrations.

byAMT's design, for a package containing an acrylic necklace. The two polystyrene boards are held together by white rubber bands.

Hattomonkey's milk cartons look as if they've been embroidered with cows, and the box flaps themselves become the cow's ears.

Stephen Burks is better known for his beautiful furniture designs, which frequently reference vernacular African design. Here, he created sumptuous and slick perfume bottles for Missoni, which were "upholstered" in remnants of Missoni's iconic fabrics.

Zak Klauck's recycled-cardboard packaging for a limited-edition Nike shirt and windbreaker.

Jung von Matt's design for Stop n' Grow. Not as painful as it looks.

Pizza boxes, designed by Atelier Typoundso and illustrated by Thomas Ott.

A bag with a statement, designed by Thorbjorn Ankerstjerne while he was a student.