Essay Practical: Design Research

The package design needs to portray the idea of an organic, fresh and natural product. It will be a midrange price product so the design will need to reflect this; obviously having a basic range of air is stupid and a higher end product would be appropriate, however the focus of my essay was supermarket package design. Therefore it seems fitting for the product to be midrange, something that would be seen on supermarket shelves.

I have begun to look into existing package designs which fit appropriately into my categories. I want to see what the packaging has in common as well as how many of the characteristics I wrote about in my essay are used.

The characteristics I explored in my essay are:

• Personification 

• Hand rendered elements

• Opportunity to be creative (Vance Packards 8 Hidden Needs)

• A window into the product

• Colours

• Multifunctional package design (going beyond the purpose)

• Sustainability

Arbor Teas

•Strong Colour

•Sustainable materials

Arbor Teas use a sustainable packaging and primarily the colour green which is synonymous to nature; reflecting the natural product inside. The simple design avoids complication which the viewer naturally links the product inside - no unnecessary ingredients just pure natural tea.

Kallo

• Hand rendered elements

• Strong colours

Kallo takes a normally boring food and transforms it into something exciting and intriguing. Using bright but not harsh colours attracts the eye whilst clearly distinguishing the different products in the range. The same illustration has been used at the bottom of each design; the impression of fields gives the customer reassurance that they are buying a natural and healthy product. Keeping the illustrations the same throughout helps to strengthen the brand and product identity. Using the leaf as a logo strengthens the organic image and the use of the simple vector butterfly above doesn't distract from the design but instead implicitly suggests freedom and nature which again portrays the product to be organic.

Wembe
• Multifunctional packaging

Wembe soaps uses natural colours to reflect the natural ingredients in their soap range. The nicely designed, good quality wooden box allows the customer to continue using it after the soaps have been used. The aesthetic and tactile elements of using actual wood makes the customer feel like they are getting good value for money.

Lucy's Goat Milk Soap

• Personification

• Window into the product

Lucy's Goat Milk Soap uses a friendly Woman's name to portray an independent business. By using a name it breaks away from a corporate image and gives the customer a mental image of a small farms product. By using a band around the soap rather than a plastic container it allows the customer to smell and touch the product before buying it. This helps to reduce post cognitive dissonance, this is especially useful when this type of product tends to come with a price tag to reflect the amount of labour gone into the product.

Simply Organic

• Window into the product

Simply Organics range of herbs and spices come in glass bottles, nicely presented and with minimal design. The fact that the labels are directly onto the bottle rather than a wrap around label really allows the customer to see the product before buying. It also uses the actual ingredient as backing so each one is a different colour and texture. This is really simple design done well.