Essay Practical: Side Design

Currently I have completed 3 of the 4 sides. I am unsure on the sheep however the grass looks plain without them. The purple on the front and back will be joined over the top of the box. I have now reached the final side and need to gather content to fill it. Below is a list of things usually included on packaging, in this context, some of them will be ironic as the product is air. Although it may be irrelevant for this product, it would be found on normal packaging as well as filling the space in a humorous way.

• Instructions for use

Already included on back

• Safety, regulatory & use warnings
Warning: May contain pollen 

• Ingredients/contents (separating active/regulated/controlled ingredients content)The most common gases are nitrogen (78%), oxygen (about 21%), and argon (almost 1%).

• Expire date (where applicable)

• Weight/volume

• Packaging info/recycling marks

I will use the above images as a guide of what to produce for my packaging.

• Company/distributor contact information

We are proud to produce and distribute a high quality product. However if you are not 100% satisfied, let us know and we’ll happily give you a full refund or replacement - that’s a guarantee you can count on.

• Country of manufacture

England, Devon

• Barcode (selling unit/SKU)

All the information has neatly fitted into the design. I have decided that this really should be on the back of the packaging not the right. I will have to move the information around to fit this new design.

My main issue with changing the back I have already designed is that I originally designed it so that the purple banner would follow from front to back going over the top of the box. This will no longer work  as it will be placed to the left of the front. Above I have quickly made a mock up of what the two sides would look like next to each other. It is workable but I am not sure whether it throws off the right side design without the purple. 

Essay Practical: Designing the Box

After finishing the design for the front of my box and attempting the back several times, I have decided to design the side next.

Firstly the side needed some sort of content to fill it.  I wanted to write something that spoke to the viewer as if it was in person. Using the word 'we' to describe the company makes it sound more humanistic than corporate. 'Small team' also reinforces the fact that it is a small group of people rather than a massive corporate company. The tone of voice suits the gentle illustrative style.

Searching through pictures of Dartmoor for visual inspiration I came across this castle which fits in perfectly with my design. By using a select few colours the viewer can see which direction the light is hitting the castle. I didn't want the design to be complicated as it needs to fit in with the rest of the flat design.

Using the front of the box I have been able to line up the moors so that they create an image once viewed together.

The path leads the viewers eye nicely into the middle. The type ending just before the castle means the viewers sight is guided across the page. 

BACK

Revisiting the back of the box has been tricky as it has been a challenge to get the information to look good.

Vanessa suggested that I lowered the information and reused the logo. This seemed like a good enough place to start as any. The type is slightly unclear over the rolling hills. The change in colour behind makes the text hard to read.

Using the purple box again hasn't worked in this example.

Making the logo smaller has really helped the composition of the page. Changing the shape to a curved rectangle has really helped with the positioning of the type. The shape feels fuller and fits the page better, however it still doesn't sit quite right. Perhaps this is because if the logo or extra purple space.

Decreasing the shapes size hasn't helped at all. The text looks crammed and poorly placed. Curving the text outside of the shape works quite well, it is a good way of tying it all in together without over filling the text box.

Going back to my original idea of continuing the banner used on the front of the box is an element which could work best. However getting the type to look correct is a challenge.  

If the box is made to big the content looks stretched as the space around the logo looks too much almost like the logo is floating. The logo needs to be significantly smaller in comparison to the front so that they are clearly different. 

Positioning the box too high also looks odd, there is too much green on show at the bottom compared to the very crammed purple top half. 

This is the final version I have settled for. The hills have been altered so that there is more of a visible difference. The purple banner has been made slightly bigger but the text has been dragged to fit with a small margin either side. The text is spaced out appropriately; there is enough space between each paragraph so that it isn't crammed in. Yet they are close enough together to read well and not look too spacey.

Essay Practical: Designing the Box Front

After hitting a wall with the design element of this project I decided to tackle it from a new angle. I was originally using Illustrator so that I could easily illustrate it. I decided to change to Indesign so that I could use a grid a lot easier as this was one of the main things I was struggling with. After I put it into Indesign I found it a lot easier to work with and soon realised that the design I had previously created wasn't that great.

I was really struggling to get the clouds to work with the logo, I then had the revelation that the design didn't really need or want clouds. It wants to depict a glorious, sunny day not overcast. Removing the clouds made the background very light. I added a gradient so that it would blend into a more vibrant 'summers day' blue. The vibrancy added really pushes the land into the back, the logo clashes with the stronger background.

 Using Fibonacci's Golden Ratio means that everything has been positioned in the correct places.

The picture above is Dartmoor, a moor in Devon. The range of green tones and shades creates a great colour palette to use to increase the packagings vibrancy and energy. The colours need to be right, they need to be full of energy and look refreshing as this is how the product should make them feel. In my essay one of the points I wrote about was how colour needs to reflect the product and provoke a certain emotion. In this case, the product needs to make the customer feel revitalised. 

The golden ratio can also be found in the composition of the moors. The path leads directly to the centre of the page, the leads the viewers eyes towards the logo and also into the distance. Both sheep facing in keep the viewers eyes looking in the centre of the design rather than fading off the box.

I really wanted to add the purple again. Purple is the colour of luxury, kind of ironic in this case as air is everywhere although I suppose it would be a luxury if you were willing to buy it! The colour also grounds the whole image by providing a focal point, emphasising the logo. The white on purple provides a good contrast which helps the logo to stand out further.

The font Helsinki is bold and clear. Its not quite perfect shapes give it a friendlier, less formal appeal. 

Putting the type in another purple band becomes very overwhelming on the page. It darkens all the colours and the design looses its 'airy' feel.

Hard to read and very illegible. This doesn't work well at all.

Again the use of purple again is too much. However perhaps the type works better in Helsinki than JennySue. 

The design was still missing something. It didn't stand out enough. To combat this I added an inner white rim to the purple box to help break up the amount of solid purple. The logo has also been dramatically thickened. It is now a lot clearer, the larger amount of white is a lot more eye catching.

The type '100% Locally Sourced' has been curved around the bottom of the purple banner. This now fits a lot better, before it looked out of place where ever it was positioned.

This is the finished box front, I may still edit the closet green so that it picks up the overall colours. 

The final design has been uplifted by increasing the saturation and vibrancy of the colours to create a more idyllic setting. The graphics have been kept simple so that the centre of attention is the logo. By not using any white apart from the logo it means the logo comes to the forefront as it is a lot brighter. The path leads the viewers eyes into the centre of the page, keeping their attention. The Golden Ratio has been used throughout designing this back, it has really helped to keep everything in line and has made sure the viewers eye is not lead off the box design.

Essay Practical: Box Mock Up

I have mocked up the box very quickly just to check the jar will fit in comfortably. The box dimensions are 13.5cm x 9cm x 9cm this leaves room around the edge and the top for the jar to fit.

The box perhaps looks like there is a lot of room around the jar. However because the jar curves out the edges need more room than the top.

The box once filled with tissue paper supports the jar nicely. The use of tissue paper will make the product feel slightly more luxurious as well as practically holding the jar in place and protecting it.

I will now continue with the design to the correct dimensions. 

Essay Practical: Box Design

 Using images I have found online I have been able to create the basic shapes of animals such as sheeps which will be used on my box design.

The simple illustrations will fit with the boxes colour scheme and hand rendered design style.

This is how the box currently stands with each side touching. I wanted the image to continue around the whole box so decided it was best to design each box seperatley but in a line so that I could use the same grid and make sure each section moved smoothly onto the next box side.

I have taken inspiration from Dartmoor, Devon to provide the scenery for the box. This again links it back to its routes of Devon and gives the customer a visual image of where the product is sources.

I am still not sure about how or where to place 'country' or what else needs to go on the front. 

The side again is still plain. I plan to illustrate more sheep to add in.

The back text is quite heavy. I will do this last on Indesign anyway but need to find an appropriate way to layout the body copy. 

The last side is the still blank. I may rewrite the text and spread it over the two sides. 

I have hit a bit of a wall with this design so will take a break from it whilst I try and create a mock up of the box. By creating a mock up I can be sure what size I will need and how the jar will sit in it. I can also use this opportunity to explore paper stock as well.