Now I have finished this packaging project I feel I have learned a more in depth understanding of packaging. I have learned that when creating packaging a brand’s characteristics and ethos must be visually noticeable to a consumer in order to create an emotional response between the brand and consumer, and therefore increase the chances of a consumer wanting to buy a product. I have also learned that a brand’s packaging must be true to the brand, for example if a brand is an organic brand then their packaging must reflect this by the materials used being good or better for the environment, for example being reusable, recyclable, or bio degradable.
I have also learned of different strategies of packaging which companies adopt in order to help a brand increase its sales, for example some companies seem to go down a route which is true to the brand and pick an element which makes the brand stand out from its competitors, Other companies make the packaging very bright in order for it to stand out on the shelf, and some companies make their brands have an individual personality so that they make an emotional link with the consumer.
I feel during this project I have also came to realise the importance of the target market, and how not directing your packaging at the right target market a good product can suffer greatly.
Packaging Project A – Orange Juice
My first product to package in a group project was orange juice, we were given a target market of all ages and classes but the product would to be sold at a high price. We started this project by looking at existing packaging of orange juice and thought about value for money. We felt that because people are becoming more aware of additives in their food and more people are turning to organic products, we felt this was a good route to go down. We decided that we would create a very natural organic type of juice. We came up with the name ‘Pure’ because we wanted to re-enforce the fact that our juice was natural and organic, this would lead our design concepts. We used a simple sans serif typeface, which we adapted to make it more unique, we felt this wouldn’t alienate our target market and felt it would go well with our name. We used a circle within our design because of the circle representing purity; we also decided to use leaves because they enforced the fact that our product was natural. We wanted our logo to go on the bottle as a vinyl sticker and not put any form information on the bottle because we wanted our brand to give the impression of honesty, we also wanted it to look individual on the shelf with a modest logo on its own. We used a glass bottle because of its recyclability with an aluminium cap for the same reason. We wanted our bottle to stand out and so used a curvy shape for a natural feel. We wanted to give our consumers something a bit different and so decided to put our information on a tag made from recyclable card, this would carry the nutritional information and be in the same shape we used on the logo.
Packaging Project B – Palmers Re-brand
This project was a re brand of a product I didn’t think was doing a good job currently. I picked Palmers cocoa butter formula, which is a skin care range.
Firstly I identified the issues with the current packaging, I then identified the target market and the price it would be sold for. I identified that Palmers is a big name within skin care and although their logo needed updating I was aware that due to consumer loyalty I would have to keep some elements of the logo so that it would still be recognisable as a Palmers product. I looked at fashionable skin care products and how they targeted the same audience as Palmers needed to target. I found that keeping up with trends was important. I also identified Palmers brand characteristics, and was aware I would have to reflect these within my design.
With palmers being a well-established brand I decided to create a limited edition product in order to introduce the new branding, this would be sold for a slightly higher price, therefore I decided to put the cream into a box, which I felt would make it stand out more on the shelf. I kept the oval shape for the logo and re organised the text, I did this because I still wanted the brand to be recognised and to keep brand loyalty. I used a swirly pattern on the packaging from the coca plant. I used this because it would attract the female target market, and it also represents the natural ingredients. I used colours like black, grey and white along with foil block to make the product stood out and to bring some style to the product. I used simple sans serif typefaces in order to keep the product simple and modern.
Overall I am happy with my designs for Palmers re-brand, I think I have identified the problems with the current packaging and responded to them well. To improve I would like to looked at the other range of products and look at how to use this design or a similar design to make the range look uniformed, but distinguishable from one another. If I could make another improvement it would be to change the bottle, and make it more unique. I enjoyed this project because it made me more aware of problems with re-branding and having to keep elements because of brand loyalty.
Packaging Project C – Nuby
I was asked to re- design the packaging for Nuby who produce baby and toddler products. The brief stated that Nuby’s products were inconsistent and lacked visual presence amongst it’s competitors. Nuby wanted their packaging to be fun, simple and reflect the fact that they try to make parents lives easier. I started by looking at Nuby’s competitors. I found their packaging all very similar, with very bold colours and loud typefaces, I found that on the shelf they all tried to stand out by doing the same thing, because of this none of them stood out. I then looked at Nuby’s products and I did a brainstorm. I then did a mood board of possible ideas and directions. I then started ideas; I wanted to create a fun uniformed packaging that parents would pick up. I came up with the idea of using animal characters, which would be simple in order to reflect Nuby making life easier for parents. I wanted the products to be seen through the packaging, which would give the impression of Nuby’s products being trustworthy and honest. I came up with a clean and easy way of packaging the products in which you can easily see what the product does. I used a simple sans serif typeface throughout the different products to create a uniformed look and to make it easy to see what the product is and what it does. I used the different characters in the same style throughout the range to add an element of fun and I used a simple neutral colour pallet again uniformed throughout the range again this was to add consistency and to help the products stand out on the shelf amongst the bold and shocking colours used by the competitors. I also added key information at the bottom of the packaging, this was to make the product look like it was easy to use and to also enhance the care and consideration which go into producing and the ideas behind the products. I feel this in particular is Nuby’s Unique selling point. I used a lot of white space within the packaging again to make the packaging stand out amongst its competitors who clutter their packaging with information. I have used curved clean lines within the shape of my packaging to make the packaging appear friendly and approachable.
Overall I am happy with my designs I think I have met the brief by making Nuby look consistent throughout its large range of products. I also feel I have made the packaging look fun and reflect that they are easy to use.
If I would make any changes to the packaging I would try to make the actual pack more unique so that it stood out further on the shelf. I enjoyed this project because I found it challenging to try to target a market I know little about, I feel I will learn because of this.
Overall I feel I have done well in this packaging project and have tried to meet the briefs by doing research into similar products and thinking hard about target markets and how to communicate the brands ethos and characteristics through design. I have enjoyed this packaging project and feel I have learned a lot from it.
No comments:
Post a Comment