The supermarket chain Aldi Nord replaced it’s one-way plastic bag by a more durable version in february 2019. I bought one myself and am quite fond of the design. It is simple yet refined enough to be interesting. The picture below shows the side without the Aldi Nord Logo.

For me the look invokes associations with a cool day at the sea, with the stripes reminiscent of the classic navy striped shirt. The color combination white and blue is one of the absolute classics in graphic design and can be traced back to islamic and chinese pottery. Nowadays the high contrast color combination of white lines on a blue background is used on many European traffic and street signs.

Beyond that there is a lot more to this bag than meets the eye. Aldi Nord commissioned the German artist Günter Fruhtrunk to design the bag in 1970. Like most designs seemingly original and retro it has slightly been altered over time, with a change of the Aldi Nord Logo and a change of format. Fruhtrunk was an abstract geometric artist who has by now largely been forgotten by the German public. I just had the rare opportunity to see some of his prints and paintings at an exhibition in Bochum (until 17.03.2019). Many of his works are made up of very precisley drawn stripes in bright contrasting colors.

His work can also be classified as op art (optical art). An effect seen in many paintings are thin blue borderlines of different widths. These blurr the edges when seen at a distance and lead to a perceived 3D effect. The picture below, a detail of the painting above, demonstrates this.

Günter Fruhtrunk was quite succesful in the 1960s and 70s. He exhibited his works both at the Documenta IV and the Venice Biennale in 1968. His abstract, anonymous and internationally comprehensive style was well suited to represent post-war Germany. Probably the main reasons why he is largely unknown today is that the commited suicide in 1982. He suffered from lifelong pain due to his war injuries and depression.

It is a commonly known psychological effect that knowledge about things increases their perceived value. So the next time you go shopping or to the laundromat, you could simply leave your IKEA Frakta bag at home and use your Aldi Nord bag instead. After having read this article you will then know that you are holding a designer bag of the forgotten German artist Günter Fruhtrunk that you got as an incredible bargain.

Addendum: Two products sold at Aldi Nord also take up the design of Günter Fruhtrunk’s shopping bag: sugar and matches (see photo below). The front- and backside of the oversized matchbox is shown. The matches are only for sale during the christmas season.