CPP INSIGHTS - DECEMBER 2022

EDITOR VIEW Lesson, We Can Learn From The Polar Bear

You might be surprised by this article’s title and the question. However, stay with me for a moment, and I’ll explain how polar bears relate to you and your business.

The reasons it takes us so long to adapt to new work environments, new methodologies and new ways of working may be hidden in these points:

Our Environment: How much are we supported in acquiring the new skills that we need in this new work environment? How openly can we experiment, and how safe is it to fail?

Every change initiative requires us to stretch the boundaries of our comfort zones. We need to let go of the old and make space for something new.

as myself puts it, brilliantly — is viewed as a strength? The answer, I’d say, is to make space for conversations that establish a foundati on of trust and respect for the changes that are coming our way. Ask yourself:

That can be uncomfortable, but learning something new is actually a good thing. Applying that new knowledge is also brave, as the biggest lessons often come from failure. How can organizations create an environment where learning to fail graciously What changes are coming your way in 2023? How can you reflect on those changes using the tactics above to create a personal road map or strategy? What changes have you gone through in the past that provided valuable lessons? How could those lessons be applied for more efficient outcomes going forward?

Readiness For Change How ready are we for the change that is coming our way? How important is this change initiative for me and for us? Will it be good or bad? Are we going to lose jobs, or are we going to expand and grow? It’s important to have open conversations about both the exciting, positive things that make us ready for upcoming changes, as well as the scary things that make us resist and avoid the change that is coming our way. Both sides need to be heard. When candor and care are the guiding principles, this transparency can build trust

As we head into 2023, I hope you’ll remember the polar bear and consider your own adaptability. I wish you great success.

Raghu Kacharagadla [Bheemesh]

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by Kacharagadla

In this present article, we will share with you our experience on Packaging illustrations. You will find out more about how we've created some of our best custom illustrations for worldwide gourmet brands & more, and basically what are the key benefits of using them for product branding. We wanted to create an article dedicated to both graphic designers & clients, both looking to have a better understanding of how packaging illustrations are created and how they can be used to convey emotions to customers in a matter of seconds.

But before we start, what are packaging illustrations? According to Wikipedia, "An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media." To summarize, an illustration created for package design presents to the customers a specific characteristic of the product or the brand while generating emotions & connecting with the audience

Packaging Illustrations in branding

If we go back in time, the earliest illustrations came from ancient Egypt. We all heard about hieroglyphs. One classic example of an ancient illustration can be found in the Tomb of Pharaon Seti I, around 1294 BC. In terms of history, the art of illustration as we know it, started to develop & extend its use in the early 19th Century and has a close connection with the industrial process of printing & distribution.

It was used mainly for children's books, magazines, newspapers, various printing materials & product packaging design to clarify and support a message. The Golden Age of Illustrations had now started. From the 1800s the illustration world grew and adapted with the upcoming times and the New World. Back to present times, illustrations are now frequently used in product branding, for label design or creative packaging, and even in the digital world, where they can add value and visual appeal to different apps, websites & e-commerce platforms. What is special about packaging illustrations?

You know what they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words" A meaningful, eye catchy illustration can be so easily remembered by the audience, can enhance the emotional appeal, and convey the product or brand message in one single glimpse. All the above reasons and more make them the perfect silent salesmen when used on a packaging design box, bottle packaging, label design, or other branding identity design element. We've selected from our portfolio some of our favorites custom illustrations that we would like to present to you in this article, their story, what they represent for the product branding and how they help elevate the product inside.

1. Establish a powerful connection with the audience through a bold and powerful illustration.

Meet the above Paper Bag [designed and developed by Creative Print and Pack (CPP)], a modern freehand digital illustration CPP created Paper Bag, and it gives a unique experience for your customers. The custom illustration uses the blue color palette to command attention. The layered style adds complexity to the illustration while offering full control to the illustrator in all the creation phases. The strips are colorful, Indigenous-inspired illustrations with a complex and intriguing pattern that will generate an emotional response from the target audience. The mixed green color used in this composition describes a powerful & exciting presence and reveals to the customers the intense shopping experience even before they carry the paper bag. Such responses can be triggered using a meaningful illustration that visually reveals the essence of the brand.

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2. Add an original, contemporary & elegant style to the brand identity to elevates a brand

This handcraft pencil and ink illustration adds a unique feeling to the entire composition of the Packaging Redefined Project and this project was designed by Creative Print and Pack. Various stages of this illustration were sketched, starting from pencil structure and composition to the ink crafted details. The ink illustration is celebrating diversity and amazing hand craft products. Using a bespoke, hand drawn style for the illustration gives a brand the power to stand apart from its competitors The message of the brand becomes much clearer than using a text description and remains in the memory of the consumer for a longer period.

3. Use 3D graphic techniques to create 3D rendered models that transport the customer into a virtual world, adding a deeper and modern dimension to the branding design.

This method offers designers the opportunity to explore the 3D environment and create virtual elements that add a touch of reality to the packaging or go the opposite direction with a futuristic creation. This option also gives the illustrator the chance to be original while creating something perfectly adapted for a specific target audience. 3D illustrations will offer the product brand a custom image and style that cannot be replicated by competitors like a photo from stock libraries that can be found available online.

You may wonder why cosmetic packaging imagery leans so much on illustration instead of basic realistic photographs.

When the commercial printing techniques start to deliver the reproduction of photos on packaging, big and small brands, all together started to use them. Why we move back to illustrations? When we finally had the means to print high quality realistic photographs on different materials and containers? It maybe means that people are starting to move back from the industrial process, the big commercial movements, and look for a natural, more personalized connection with the brands. The packaging illustrations bring forward a more symbolic side of the brand message; carry a more complex message than simply a photo.

To summarize, illustrations in Packaging Design offer the perfect method to use storytelling in this fast shopping environment.

People have always been intrigued, seduced, and fascinated by stories, so using packaging illustrations for a product brand offers a great advantage. Using illustrations in the packaging design will help the brand appeal to an emotional level and connect with the consumer which is the ultimate goal of a successful branding design. Packaging has transformed its initial purpose, to only transport what is inside, and had become, since the Industrial Revolution, a creative form of communication.

People have always been intrigued, seduced, and fascinated by stories, so using packaging illustrations for a product brand offers a great advantage. Using illustrations in the packaging design will help the brand appeal to an emotional level and connect with the consumer which is the ultimate goal of a successful branding design. Packaging has transformed its initial purpose, to only transport what is inside, and had become, since the Industrial Revolution, a creative form of communication. The most important question you should ask yourself is: What's the story that lies behind this product brand? Can an illustration bring this story to life in a matter of seconds and engage the consumer?

4. Connect easily with a younger & more hip audience through a playful and colorful composition.

We opted for creating a vector illustration in the Product Packaging, so the entire composition can be easily scaled and adapted for any printing environment while guaranteeing a high quality resolution. Because packaging illustrations can have so many different styles & unique colors, you have a wide palette of possibilities to choose the one that better represents the brand. In this particular packaging project, the illustration of ship and wave has a double purpose, inviting the customers to taste the seafood but also offering the illusion of taste and ship journey while suggesting an out of-this-world energy boost and experience of travelling. You should opt for a vector illustration when you have multiple surfaces, materials, and package types to print later on. This type of vector illustration will offer you the possibility to use it on any kind of package, label design, or brand stationery.

How to use color in Packaging Illustrations and Branding.

A world of colors, a lavender field, fresh cut green grass, pink strawberry ice cream or just simply, a red tasty apple Beautiful colors that simply inspire Yes, it's all about color. Colors in design had always made a difference. And when it comes to color The Pantone Color Institute offers us a world of great choices that are fit for any occasion, job or hobby.

Pantone Matching System (PMS) company, was founded by Lawrence Herbert and began its story in the city of New York in 1950 as a commercial printing company. In 1963 Lawrence Herbert created an innovative color system that would reinvent the way printing was done. The foundation of its system was that every individual sees & interprets the color spectrum differently so to have the same color the PMS was born. Now by using this standard color system(PMS), people from different locations can all use the Pantone system to make sure colors match perfectly without contacting one another.

Clients, packaging design companies, branding studios & many more all use this system to ensure their continuity of work when it comes to the perfect color no matter where is printed and on what. The color system offers immense liberty of printing on different materials and obtain the envisioned result. What you see on your laptop can now be printed on polyester and no compromise have to be made there. For example, the colors of a logo or a label will look the same no matter what ways of promoting used. We always advise our clients to choose from the beginning a color system that matches their business needs.

More than just a color institute, Pantone opened a vast world of possibilities for color printing and people's imagination. As a packaging design studio, we can rely on this system to offer our clients persistence when it comes to color printing and that's simply fantastic. More then just a color system, Pantone has entered in our daily lives, offering trends, color ideas and even PANTONE Color of the Year to capture the intensity and direction of each period. We can all measure time now simply by using colors. "Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways." Oscar Wilde, rish poet and playwright

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by Kacharagadla

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Packaging IM'PRESS'

Kacharagadla: Namaste Kondaiah Chowdary P [KCP gaaru. How are you ?

KCP: Namaste I am doing good and Thank you Kacharagadla: How You Decide the Future worth It ?

KCP: Decide the future is worth it. it applies to all. If you want to sustain long in the industry, then you have to do something better than your competitors.

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One of the biggest impacts we can have is ensuring that our products sustain longer than plastic based packaging products. We invest in eco friendly and long life performance materials and construction methods, and we reinforce major stress points on all of our print and packaging products. These materials are more expensive and reinforced printing and finishings [like foilings, embossing, laminations, etc] require expert work. Our customers also order more, since our premium segmented sustainable paper and paper board based print and packaging products using out as regularly.

Kacharagadla: What do you print in your press?

KCP: We offer state of the art printing facilities for various products in different industries. And we have Heidelberg CD 102 machine with 6 colours of printing and coating. We can print non-absorbent substrates like PET, Trump cards with UV printing with Drip off/Texture effect.

Kacharagadla: What is your concept to win the customers ?

KCP: It is a simple funda, 'Innovate now to win customers later'. Now customers looking for recyclable/recycled products, so we especially focused on this green packaging innovation.

We searched for a recycling program that accepts coated packaging materials, one of the most complicated packaging products to break down and recycle. Nothing existed, so we worked with sustainability experts to devise our own program and found the best team who could reliably help us recycle all components of our products, we pay special attention to each order, so we've found that our customers love this service and are more loyal because of it.

founder and managing director, CREATIVE PRINT AND PACK

Kacharagadla: What made you successful as an Entrepreneur?

KCP: When I think of what makes an entrepreneur successful, I inspired by many of people and kept in mind, should be settled as entrepreneur by the age of 28 but many of factors not supported. In 2007, i recall myself and design my business route map for next 18 years, it is vision 2025.

So I reflect on my own journey. Before I started my business 15 years ago, I knew that I could help and support employees and their families by offer employment them. Even my parents said that I enjoyed to share and contribute my abilities to neighbours as a child. So, to indulge my self-interest, I began business to do more of what I loved.

Kacharagadla: How is the overall Printing Business in India?

KCP: Really it is in very good line but not great. Since last couple of years [due to pandemic] few segments in Printing Industry get down. I hope now it is slowly coming back again. As of 2021 business statistics, Indian Printing Industry hit 225 billion Indian rupees. It might good sign. If we look printing and Packaging in single card, there is a bright future market in Indian Subcontinent. Because Packaging industry growth rate is very good even in pandemic, Both Print and Packaging Industries registering a CAGR of 26.7% during the period of 2020 25. And Packaging is among the high growth industries in India and developing at 25% per annum. Kacharagadla: What is your advice to young printers?

Kacharagadla: Is your company mostly packaging oriented?

KCP: No, We do Packaging Designing, Printing and Branding

Kacharagadla: Oh! That's Great What is your general considerations of Packaging Designing ?

KCP: We are having in housed designing lab called Creative Pro Packaging Lab, here we design and develop new packaging concept. It is completely dedicated team for NDD [New Design and Development] and NPD [New Product Development] Our Lab works with UX [User eXperience] and UXD/UED [User Experience Design] concept.

This concept will help to do something better than existing. Visually pleasing and interactive design; An Information architecture that presents information in an organized fashion, paying special attention to features such as design and navigation themes;

Accessibility

HCI [human computer interaction]

ergonomics

Utility Performance.

Our user experience strategies should be constantly modified as usage circumstances shift and individual systems are modified in usage context. User experience testing is often employed to reassess UX.

Kacharagadla: Do your packaging design will give brand experience to the end users ?

KCP: Definitely. It will give.

Kacharagadla: How you define brand experience ?

KCP: Brand experience influences how customers feel about a brand through a simple but meaningful encounter. Brand experience builds consumer awareness and often creates brand-faithful customers. The ultimate goal is to elicit positive emotions and feelings from consumers concerning a specific brand.

This means that customers are directly influenced by all types of different experiences they have with different brands.

Knowing this, it stands to reason that you should work to create better experiences for customers.

A brand experience is all about designing and formulating a sensory user experience that can bring a user into a meaningful and lasting relationship with a brand.

Kacharagadla: What is your frame work for NPD [New Product Development] ?

KCP: We follow conceptual frameworks, such as the fuzzy front end (FFE) approach, define the steps that should be followed early in the development process, but leave it up to the product development team to decide in which order the steps make the most sense for the specific product that's being developed. The five elements of FFE product development are as follows:

Identification of design criteria entails brainstorming possible new products. Once an idea has been identified as a prospective product, a more formal product development strategy can be applied.

Idea analysis requires a closer evaluation of the product concept. Market research and concept studies are conducted to determine if the idea is feasible or within a relevant business context to the company or to the consumer.

Concept genesis involves turning an identified product opportunity into a tangible concept.

Prototyping includes creating a rapid prototype for a product concept that has been determined to have business relevance and value. Product development requires ensuring the concept is viable and has been determined to make business sense and have business value.

Other frameworks, like design thinking, have iterative steps that are designed to be followed in a particular order to promote creativity and collaboration. The five components of design thinking are as follows:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Empathize. Learn more about the problem from multiple perspectives. Define. Identify the scope and true nature of the problem.

Ideate. Brainstorm solutions to the problem.

Prototype. Weed out unworkable or impractical solutions. Test. Solicit feedback.

Kacharagadla: How to create a product development plan ?

KCP: The product development plan may change, depending on the organization creating it. However, a general plan should include the following steps:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Identify a product need and business case. Using practices like test marketing and surveys, organizations can gauge interest in a product. This helps ensure the product has a strong reason to be created.

Create a product vision. This includes coming up with the project's scope, purpose for the product, what it does, who it's for and the product design, while also crafting guiding principles for the upcoming work.

Create a roadmap. Assess the project as a concept first to ensure good design work, then begin crafting the roadmap. The roadmap aids in identifying what goals should be developed first. Implementation teams create schedules, break down significant portions of the project into sprints and generate iterations of the product.

Begin implementing the roadmap. Teams can then start implementing the project, following the roadmap. Iterations of the product can be made, reviewed and improved upon. This helps identify weak areas of the product and enables development teams to fix and improve the product.

Continue with development and assessments. Development teams can work on enhancements and changes to the product. In this step, feedback can be gathered from customers to change the product based on customer needs.

Stakeholders should also be included in these steps to ensure their needs and requirements are being met or addressed

Kacharagadla: What are the stages of new product development ?

KCP: The new product development process consists of the following components:

Idea generation is the continuous and systematic quest for new product opportunities, including updating or changing an existing product. The goal is to generate ideas for new products or services or improvements to products or services -- that address a gap in the market.

Idea screening takes the less wanted product ideas out of the running. Unsuitable ideas should be determined through objective consideration, early testing and feedback from consumers.

Concept development and testing is vital. The internal objective analysis is replaced by customer opinion in this stage. The idea, or product concept at this point, must be tested on a true customer base. Further development of the concept can be made according to the feedback. One example of concept development is the prototypes developed by car manufacturers. These concept vehicles are made of clay and shown at auto shows for consumer feedback. Market strategy and business analysis identifies the product strategy of how to optimally market and sell a product or service. It's comprised of the four P's of marketing -- product, price, promotion and place. Product. The service or good that's been designed to satisfy the demand of a target audience.

Price. Pricing decisions affect everything, including profit margins, supply and demand as well as market strategy.

Promotion. The goals of promotion are to present the product to the target audience increase demand and illustrate the value of the product. Promotion includes advertisements, public relations and marketing campaigns.

Place. The transaction may not occur on the web, but in the digital economy, customers are generally engaged and converted on the internet. Whether the product is provided in a traditional brick-and-mortar business setting or is available through an omnichannel approach, the optimal channel or channels must be determined. This is especially true if the targeted potential customers are to become actual customers.

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Feasibility analysis or study yields information critical to the product's success. It entails organizing groups that will test a beta version or prototype of the product, then evaluate the experience in a test panel. This feedback communicates the level of interest in the product by the target users. It also helps determine if the product in development has the potential to be profitable, attainable and viable.

Questions to be answered during feasibility analysis include the following:

Do you have the labor and materials required?

What's the price of production, delivery and promotion?

Do you have access to the right distribution channels?

Product technical design and product roadmap integrates the results of the feasibility analyses and feedback into the product. This stage consists of turning that prototype or concept into a workable market offering; ironing out the technicalities of the product; and alerting and organizing the departments involved with the product launch. This includes research and development, finance, marketing, production and operations. This step should also consist of creating a product roadmap that teams will follow to develop the new product. Test marketing or market testing is where the goal is to validate the entire concept from marketing angle to packaging, advertising and distribution. Test marketing is often performed by offering the product to a random sample of the target market. By testing the entire package before launch, an organization can review the reception of its product before a full go-to-market investment is made. Market entry and commercialization is the stage in which the product is introduced to the target market. The product is now available to everyone and the product lifecycle begins. The life of the product is shaped by the reception of the target market, the competition and subsequent enhancements to the product. Product development is an ever evolving and fluid process. In some organizations, there's a dedicated team that researches and tests new products whereas smaller organizations may outsource their new product development to a design team. In midsize organizations, the product manager is often the person in charge of product development. Regardless of which framework is used and who is in charge of new product development, this is just one aspect of the entire product lifecycle management (PLM).

Kacharagadla: Super What an explanation Thank you so much sir for your valuable time and information.

KCP: Thank you. You're welcome.