PROCESS
Missing Pieces Humble Pie
Emma Thompson CAP 1 Form + Function Communication Design Sam Fox School Washington University in St. Louis Fall 2017
PROMPT We all have things we’ve lost or things we never had that lurk as missing pieces in our lives. If you could add one thing to your life that could improve it on any scale, what would it be? The “miracle addition� could be abstract or literal, physical or emotional, unambitious or life altering. Name your missing piece and design a package to contain it (you will not be creating the actual product, just the packaging). The first part of this project involves writing through the (self-)discovery phase. Do not latch on to the first idea that comes to mind, but really delve deep into what you value and come up with several ideas, at least 3 of which make the final cut due to their strength of concept and potential for packaging production options. The first deliverable for this project will be a mood board that you will produce with related references for your package design. I encourage you to pull several of your references from both fields outside of graphic design and other historical periods (patterns, object/shape, material references), though some references can come directly from contemporary graphic design. The second deliverable is the complete external packaging, which should let your audience know what the product is as well as communicate your attitude towards it.
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RESEARCH I started thinking about this project by just doing a quick brain storm of ideas. I tried writing down the quirkiest, crazy, some even deep ideas of products that I could think of. This lead me to have a wide range of ideas including a breath of fresh air, flexibility, a parent, and even a new face. I love everything retail and advertising related so this drew me to creating products or things that were more superficial but had some sort of basis that made consumers want them. Most of my ideas were very cheeky/ punny. The idea of a cheeky product immediately made me think of a video that soda stream made with Paris Hilton for April fools last year. The basic gist of it was that to save the planet everyone should drink this product called nanodrop which was a bottle filled with one drop of protein heavy water. I laughed a lot about how stupid this idea was but how the idea of saving the earth was an aspect that made it relatable to a consumer. By the end of the research phase I had landed on two specific ideas one being Humble Pie the other being A Reality Check. I believed that both of these products were deeply rooted in something real but could be marketed in a superficial way.
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DISCOVERY After the first discussion about my different ideas, I decided to move forward with the Humble Pie concept. I started to think long and hard about what exactly I was trying to show in the product. There was an idea of dual states, the state of enjoyable pie and the idea of being slapped in the face with humility. I didn’t want for the humble pie to be a physical pie. I thought that this was too literal and not innovative enough. The more I kept thinking about humility, I came up with the idea that humility is something gained overtime it is not earned. I couldn’t just give the viewer a pie. It is not necessarily something someone is born with. It changes and evolves with them. This got me thinking about how pies are made. I noticed that there are steps to baking a pie the same way there are steps to becoming more humble. I wanted to incorporate these two ideas into my packaging. I also thought about how does one package humility. It is not an actual thing but a trait. I also started doing some initial explorations into how pie boxes for singular pieces of pie are constructed. I started thinking about how the inside vs. the outside of the pie box would look like. I worked to figure out how they would stay separate but would still show a cohesive idea.
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REFINEMENT In the refinement phase I started working on the different type languages found on the inside vs. the outside of the box. I needed to find two very distinct typefaces that were different but that worked very well together. I initally had a hard time placing the text inside of the pie circle found on the inside of the box. Eventually I decided to place the humble quotes on the outside of the circle and the pie instructions on the inside of the circle. I also started exploring color. I wanted them to emulate the bright and enjoyable color usually found in backery branding. As time went on I decided to nix the idea of giving the user a small amount of ingredients. This something extra was not needed and overshadowed alot of other elements. Through mini process critiques I gained the feedback that I was trying to do too much on the outside. I wanted to place photos and other fun quotes. These instead of adding to the project were taking away from the main concept. The main idea I was trying to get across was found in the inside of the box, so this is where the meat of my packaging should be found. At the last minute I decided to create a pattern for the outside. I drew different types of fruit that a pie could be made out of these included cherry, apple, rhubarb and others.
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CRITICISM I have alot of criticisms for my project. I am disappointed in its final outcome. I was so energized and excited about my idea and the product itself. When the final product feel flat I was devasted . First thing that needs work is the construction of the pie box. I think that I made it too tall. It needed to be only 2 inches tall instead of 4. I also thought I was being innovative by using sticker paper instead of just gluing printer paper. Unfortunately after it was too late I realized that the sticker paper was letter sized. This made covering the edges much more difficult since my box was 8x8in. The edges would peel off really easily exposing the white box underneath. Overall this caused my craft to just be very very bad. Next I think my type was just not working well together especially how the different elements were placed in the pie circle found inside of the box. I need to rethink about what pieces of information are the most important and which ones are not needed. I also believe that I need to look back to my initial inspiration of 50s household ads and home baked pie companies. I need to make the idea clean simple and straight to the point. I tried too hard to modernize my theme in order to draw the reader in. I really should have instead drawn the reader into the idea of the past rather then making them interested in the present. I also think I should have done more material explorations into how I could stamp the logo on to create that homemade feel. I also made the inside elements and the outside elements of the box way too different. There wasn’t a strong enough connection between the two. Lastly I do want to be some sort of experiential or spacial designer. I needed to really think about how a consumer or viewer was gonna view the product.
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