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love
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PROCESS G R I N D a s
m u c h
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R E S U LT S ”
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PAC K AG I N G PRO C ESS JO U R N A L All work by Jessica Byrd in Spring 2018 University of Louisville Hite Art Institute 104 Schneider Hall, Louisville, KY 40292
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PROJECT 1
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 1: R E FL ECTI O N what is packaging? packaging is any container that represents a brand of, potects the contents of & presents information for a specific product what does a package have to do? a successful package should attract buyers(both new, browsing customers & loyal customers included within the product persona), have presence on the shelf, provide basic information about the contents of the package & protect the product within the package
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what are some things designers must consider when creating package designs? sustainability of the package design if the package’s production cost reamins within the defined budget if it attracts the appropriate audience outlined in the creative brief and/or persona description if its appearance matches the actual value of the product
JO U R N A L E NTRY 2 : R ES E A RC H PA RT 1 sustainability/low impact packaging Sustainability was not on my mind when I signed up for this packaging class. After watching Eric Benson’s video on sustainable graphic design, I now realize that it is a common concern for package designers. We all make so much waste. This is enevitable since we live in a consumer-based society and graphic design happens to be at the center of this structure. We buy things, throw the package away, use the product, throw the product away, and evetually find ourselves in Target buying another product to replace the discarded one. Eric was really on to something big when he created his renourish website to help designers reduce waste and
design more sustainably. Why would anyone want to make a wasteful package when there are obviously better options? Maybe it is because sustainability can affect cost? But is costcutting really the only thing to consider when choosing print materials? We really are just creating beautifully designed trash; there is no reason to use more ink or paper than necessary to achieve the goals of the package design. While browsing the renourish site, I also found it extremely interesting that sometimes it is just as sustainable to use virgin paper vs. recycled paper and considering paper sources is just as important as reducing paper use. There are so many things
for designers to consider in terms of sustainability and Eric Benson has created an amazing resource to streamline this process. It is steps like these that will improve sustainability in the graphic design industry and make designers more concious of their decisons.
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 3: R ES E A RC H PA RT 2 product category & context With all this talk about sustainable packaging, I don’t know where to start. Our first project prompt is to design a sustainable package for a housware or kitchenware product. Naturally, I chose to pay a visit to the Home Depot to begin my research. I have been to Home Depot quite often during my lifetime, but its size never ceases to amaze me; I swear it gets bigger every time I go there! After I regain conciousness from the sensory overload caused by walking through the sliding doors, I head towards the power tools aisle. Here I came across the knives. Hanging up on the display shelf, I spot a familiar orange and black
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package: a Gerber multi-tool (shown in photo below). I had a little bit of time to snap a few photos of some other things. It is extremely easy to get lost in there and forget what you actually came there for. So I left Home Depot with my brain full of sustainable packaging ideas and my hands full of adorable pink-spotted houseplants. Once I got home, I designed a research sheet to display my findings to the class. This can be seen on page 7.
PRO J ECT O N E - S U STA I N A B L E D ES I G N R ES E ARC H S U STA I N A B L E
D E S I G N B A D
brand looks reputable and updated, product quality appears as good as its top competitor on its left
D E S I G N
package has great presence among the other knives due to the good use of color and hierarchy
G O O D
package uses a smaller amount of plastic by also using thick paper to contain the multi-tool
N OT S O S U S TA I N A B L E
package has too much plastic - a knife is needed to open this knife package does not have presence on shelf - too much info on front, could be condensed brand appears out-dated may be appealing to buyers that have been using this brand for many years and trust it
package is a simple piece of thick paper, product is attached by a few small zipties - limited use of disposable materials
package uses an unnecessary amount of plastic interestingly, this product is made by the same brand as the octopus hook
package has a simple, clean design with lots of white space - allows product to speak for itself
package has a simple, clean design with lots of white space
product has a good amount of presence on the shelf - the package color helps a bit with this
brand could create a better system with the same tonality as the octopus hook package design
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 4: R ES E A RC H PA RT 3 consumer persona Kyle Vice, a service designer and UofL alum, visited us in the studio today via live video chat. He spoke about personas and how he and his co-workers use them on a daily basis. What was most interesting to me was that he sometimes uses archetypes instead of full, research-based personas. An archetype is a representation of a single consumer, defined by information gathered from an interview with that specific person. Personas are fictional overarching representations of a body of consumers and users, aggregated from oservations and qualitative & quantitative data. Understanding
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personas, archetypes and the difference between the two is helpful because it is part of understanding your users and how to appeal to them. Kyle says, “Personas are good because they establish a common goal for a project.� Many Hite design alums use them in their careers today. Personas are something important for us to be exposed to now because later we can tell potential employers we have dealt with them. Kyle also touched on design skills in general. He talked about his process as a service designer: create many design options/ ideas, condense down to the best ideas & choose the best option (solution).
This design process is a tried-and-true one, one that most of us can use on nearly any project. It is smart for designers to always be aware of their process and to keep track of it (kind of like this process journal) because it helps us to reflect on our work and understand what is working and what is not. We will be creating personas for project 1, but that will come later.
JO U R N A L E NTRY 5: D E FI N E PA RT 1 semantics differential scale At this point, I am still researching and brainstorming how to create the most sustainable package for a multi-tool . I am also beginning to think about who will be using this particular multi-tool and how to attract them to buy it. In class, Leslie and I were talking about my plans and I am seriously considering designing this package to appeal to women. We were discussing how demeaning current woman-friendly tools are that sit on the shelves today. I can’t stand seeing a pink-handled hammer hanging among the others. I think this has inspired me to tackle the femalefriendly package problem. The next step is to create a
semantics differential scale. A semantics differential scale is a tool that designers use to define their goals for a project by placing opposing descriptive adjectives on each end of the scale. This scale can be used at multiple different points during the project: initial goal evaluation, secondary progress check-ins with clients and during assesment of consumer feedback. An image of my semantics differential scale is shown on page 10. I have begun to develop a persona that fits my research, so that will come next with my creative brief.
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PRO J ECT O N E - D I FFE R E NTI A L SCA L E existing goal
boring
fun
feminine
masculine
rugged
dainty
sustainable
not “green�
expensive
cheap
disposable
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durable
JO U R N A L E NTRY 6: D E FI N E PA RT 2 creative brief Today I wrote my cretive brief (shown on page 12), in this I outlined the purpose and goals of the project. So, I have written in it that I will be designing a new brand for tool-savvy women. I will start by designing a new, sustainable package for a 12-in-one multi-tool. I have created my persona: a white, 35 year old female named Samantha Goodman. She is a divorced Registered Nurse. She works very hard to provide for her two children. They live in a well-kept, middle-class suburban home. When she is not working or caring for her kids, she can be found tending her garden, cooking or completing one of the many DIY projects
that fill her extensive todo lists. She has become extremely tool-savvy since her divorce three years ago. Her ex-husband was her high school sweetheart and is no longer in the picture. With the information I have gathered through research and the creation of my creative brief, persona and semantics differential scale, I will be able to stay on task. Always having this physical information on-hand will help me stay true to the goals I have laid out for myself for this project. On page 13 there is a representation of my persona for project 1.
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PRO J ECT O N E - C R E ATI V E B R I E F PRO D U CT a new brand of pocket knives, specifically starting with a multi-tool
PRO JECT D ES C R I P TI O N design sustainable packaging for a hardware or kitchenware product
PU R P O S E O F PRO JECT come up with the most environmentally-friendly design solution for the package
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CO M PETITI V E E N V I RO N M E NT on the shelf, there are a lot of warm colors used for knife packaging; competitors include: Gerber, Milwaukee, DeWALT & Leatherman knife and multi-tool brands
TA RG ET AU D I E N C E this multi-tool will stand out because of the values it is pushing: women can do “man’s work” too. toolsavvy women who enjoy DIY projects and the outdoors.
PR I C E P O I NT this tool will cost anywhere between $30 and $40 depending on the supply and demand
PRO J ECT O N E - PE RS O N A
Samantha Goodman
AG E R A N G E: 3 5 – 45 G E N D E R: f e m a l e R AC E: c a u c a s i o n B I O G R APH Y: Samantha Goodman is a divorced Registered Nurse. She works very hard to provide for her two children. They live in a well-kept, middle-class suburban home. When she is not working or caring for her kids, she can be found tending her garden, cooking or completing one of the many DIY projects that fill her extensive to-do lists. She has become extremely tool-savvy since her divorce three years ago. Her ex-husband was her high school sweetheart and is no longer in the picture.
“ S LOW p r o g r e s s is better than NO p r o g r e s s .”
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 7: EXPLO R E & S E L ECT concept sketches The time has come to finally start putting my design ideas down on paper. I really enjoy this part of the design process because I love sketching and thinking about crazy ideas without feeling like they are wrong or they won’t work. It is so nice to stop caring about those worries and just let it flow. For this project I have developed 10 thumbnail sketches (shown on page 15) and a few larger sclae sketches(shown on pages 16 & 17). The larger sketches are an attempt to dig deeper on ideas that seems more practical or has the most potential, but they also explore the ideas that seem really far out there. This
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process is reminiscent of Kyle Vice’s process of creating lots of options and condensing down to the “better” ideas. Seeing my sketches drawn out truly has me excited for where this project might go! I am now ready to take these ideas to the computer. After conversing with some of my classmates about my ideas, I have decided to focus on creating a simple, thick paper package that will hold the multitool with a few zip-ties through it. The sketch for this idea can be seen on page 18.
PRO J ECT O N E - CO N C E P T S K ETC H ES
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PRO J ECT O N E - CO N C E P T S K ETC H ES
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PRO J ECT O N E - CO N C E P T S K ETC H ES
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PRO J ECT O N E - CO N C E P T S K ETC H ES
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 8: CO M P O S E layout of package face Over the weekend I have been working on my on-screen design of the package. After some quick research in the art library, I designed a cute, Rosie the Riveter-inspired logo (shown below). I chose this route because I think that Rosie represents the values that my persona lives by. Rosie the Riveter was a WWII pop-culture icon that inspired women to take on jobs known otherwise as man’s work. A large amount of women’s husbands were off fighting in the war, so the women had to pick up the slack in the workforce. This thought process also had me thinking about what this means for women today. I thought of who modern day Rosie’s would
be: DIY Women. I had to think of a name to represent this group of women. This is how I came up with the DIY Women’s Foundation. I plan to use this logo and organization to promote sales for my product. In terms of brand name, I have worked on distilling my ideas down and calling the actual brand “DIY women”. You can see my design of the two logos below.
from your purchase will be donated to: The DIY Women’s Foundation©
layout of back side At this point, the back side of the package says “Do It Yourself. This tool is so versatile; you will want to use it on all of your DIY projects.It can fit in your pocket or even your purse. A portion of the profits
DI Y women DIY Women’s Foundation 23
JO U R N A L E NTRY 9: PRO D U C E dieline Since the design is mostly refined, I can begin to think about production & printing. Part of this process is perfecting marks and bleed, page set-up and dieline creation. A printer uses a dieline to create perfect cuts on a printed piece of paper. When I turned in my dieline, my teacher pointed out a crucial aspect of my design: where I had the tool positioned within my design could cause the package to tilt when it is hung up because of the weight of the tool. If I did not take this step to consider my dieline, my final piece may have been compromised. It is great to be able to fix these problems early on in the printing process rather than
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later when the due date is looming closer. So, once again, the process has saved me from my own mistakes, this is why you gotta love it! The image below is a process image that is showing the changes I have been making along the way. I have worked a lot with scaling, type and composition as a whole.
JO U R N A L E NTRY 1 0: PRO D U C E “client” presentation A lot has happened between last class and now. I have created a fully fuctional (almost) comp of my design. Photos of these comps can be seen on the right and on pages 22 & 23. I am actually very happy with it at this point. The back definitely needs some work, the scale of the logo seems a bit large, the paper needs to be a bit more structural, etc. Today in class we had an interactive critique in which each of us jotted down feedback for one another’s designs. My classmates gave me some very useful feedback and I feel very good about the changes I will be making. I plan on adding a list of the tools included on the back. I also plan on adjusting the type
so it does not interfere with the zip-ties. On the front I will be removing the tiny info box on the left and integrating that info a bit more seamlessly.
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 11: PRO D U C E 3D comp & good quality digital image As you can see from the process image below, I had to run a lot of tests before getting this step done. Actually cutting out and making high-quality comps is so exciting and terrifying at the same time. I am always nervous that I will let my blade go astray and ruin all my hard work. I find it best to relax and try to focus rather than worry about what could go wrong.
High-quality images of my final comp can be found on pages 26 & 27. Overall, I am very proud of my work. I am so happy to have it all printed and trimmed. Now the final step: get consumer feedback.
I practiced cutting this comp out on thick about three times over the course of this project. We finally got our pieces delivered by Michael from Material Print Shop. He did a great job; I only have one issue with the printing. The print turned out a bit undersaturated.
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 1 2 : E VA LUATE consumer feedback I have designed a consumer feedback form (on page 29) to hand out to a few people to get some feedback on my DIY Women multitool package design. I have given a copy to my mom, Theresa Byrd, and to my friend, Kelsey McDonald, to fill out. Coincidentally, they are both registered nurses. Kelsey is 24 years old and my mom is 51 years old. They both responded extremely close to the semantics differential scale that I created at the beginning of the project. It was so exciting to show my package to my friends and family because they all had such positive things to say. My mom said, “I would
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definitely buy it because the unique shape and colors are pleasing to my eyes.” Kelsey said that “The design is prettier and more geared towards woman than other knife brands.” I think it is useful to make research tools like the semantics differential scale because it provides a more concrete, numeric form of feedback.
PRO J ECT O N E - CO N S U M E R FE E D BAC K FO R M Name:
Age:
Occupation:
please fill in the bubble that you feel best describes the DIY women package.
boring
fun
feminine
masculine
rugged
dainty
sustainable
not “green�
expensive
cheap
disposable
durable
how likely are you to buy this product on a scale from 1 to 10?
would the package stand out to you on a shelf full of other knife brands? If so, why?
what store would you expect to see this being sold?
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PROJECT 2
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 1: R ES E A RC H creative brief, visual inventory & mood board Today in class I spent about 2 hours in the art library researching my chosen culture for Project 2: The Caribbean. During this time, I was able to find a few really good examples of authentic Caribbean art. I found a few paintings with some interesting patterns and textures. I also found an extremely ample amount of exciting colors. I think this will be what I mainly want to capture in terms of appropriately representing the culture of the Caribbean. When I think of the Caribbean I immediately think of vibrant colors, flavors and music. This is what I want people to think of when they see my spices sitting on the shelf in the grocery store.
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The next part of Project 2 is to take this research from today and create a mood board and creative brief. I plan to put together a mood board that contains the vibrant colors and flare that you would expect to see for a Caribbean product. The creative brief will lay out the purpose and focus of the project and define certain specifics like who the target audience is. I also will make a visual inventory which displays “what’s out there” in the real spice sales world. I really want my brand to be unique and something that will stand out among the big box brands like McCormick, Spice Islands &
Mrs. Dash. I want to appeal to a wide range of people that are cooking with spices. I think spices are a product that could have a more fun package than we are used to seeing. They bring so much flavor to what we cook in our kitchens and I think the package should reflect that. I feel like I have gathered so much information about the Caribbean; I’m already starting to think about what direction I will go with this project.
JO U R N A L E NTRY 2 : EXPLO R E concept sketches Creating concept sketches is always fun for me. I love translating my ideas into black ink on fresh paper. My sketchbook is the place where I allow myself to be a little messy and unorganized because that is when my best ideas are formed. I like to just let it flow and not worry about what it looks like because there is no reason to over-think this step! As you can see from the scanned images of my sketches, it is by no means clean and without error. I also like to write a lot and make little notes to myself. I try to do everything that I possibly can to get out of my head and on paper. I think my concept sketches
are pretty good this time for Project 2. I have come up with 8 thumbnail sketches and 3 “big idea” sketches. For these “big idea” sketches I mostly focused on different logos, bottle shapes & label shapes. The first big idea is a band and oval shaped label on a cylindrical glass bottle. The name of this company would be “Tastes of the Caribbean”. The second big idea is a triangle shaped label on a cork-topped bottle. The name of this company would be “Message in a Bottle Spice Company”. The third big idea is a hexagon shaped label on a square-shaped bottle. The name of this company would be “Caribbean Trade Winds”. The big ideas I
came up with are all pretty similar; I think I could definitely explore a bit more, but time is a very limited thing for this project. I did as much as I could in these short two days. Next class I will present these and my research to my classmates.
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PRO J ECT T WO - CO N C E P T S K ETC H ES
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PRO J ECT T WO - CO N C E P T S K ETC H ES
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 3: E D ITI N G & S E L ECTI O N Presentation of Sketches & Other Research Today in class I presented my creative brief, visual inventory, mood board, and concept sketches. Images of these research documents can be seen on pages *****. After my presentation my classmates urged me to go with my “Message in a Bottle” idea. The name is too long, so I will have to get creative and pick a short name that still makes sense. I am not the best at presenting my work; this is something that I have always struggled with during my educational career. This is something I am always working on and tryimg to improve. I think a big part of my success with my presentations is being prepared. I sometimes do
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not really have time to think about what I need to say. In the past, setting aside about 30 minutes the night before to go through my presentation and actually say what I plan on saying in class helps a ton. I am kind of a shy person and I worry too much about saying the wrong thing or not making any sense at all while I am presenting. I am really hoping that I will get better at this every year. I am a firm believer in the phrase “practice makes perfect”. I truly believe in myself and know that, with practice, I will get better. I am currently in search of an internship and this is another thing that will really help me learn how to
talk about my work and give feedback for my co-workers’ work.
JO U R N A L E NTRY 4: I N ITI A L CO M P O S ITI O N Blythe Magnuson Skype Conversation & Round Robbin Written Review 1 Today in class we spoke to Blythe Magnuson, a package designer for Kaleidoscope in Chicago, via Skype. Blythe was such a sweet person and I loved her work. She showed us some of the packaging projects she has completed for her main client, Aldi Supermarket. She showed an image of a spicy cheddar cheese package that was super cute; It was very similar to my work with illustrations and fun handlettering. She also showed some brie cheese package and I was completely in shock when she told us that she had to work really quickly to finish it the same day. That makes me stressed out just thinking about that, but she kept such a care-free attitude about it.
Her presentation was very interesting but also very eyeopening because she let us in on some behind-the-scenes food industry info. She has to think about things like legal nutrition information and sticking to her client’s style guides. She also is diven the dieline very early on in the project and must design for it; she doesn’t get to do much structural design. It was so cool to hear what she had to say about the packaging world. After the conversation with Blythe, we had a Round Robbin Written Review a.k.a. RRWR or R4. Personally, I find these types of in-progress critiques to be extremely helpful and productive. You can see
the labels that I brought in below. So far I have created a logo for Sea Mail Spice Company. I think the logo is very fun and appropriate for a Caribbean spice company. I also have created my first attempt to the label as a whole. The feedback I recieved was very good, everyone was so clear about what they felt worked and what did not. Mostly my peers encouraged me to resolve the way the handlettering interacts with the oval. This is great feedback because I did not really think about that. They also gave me type suggestions.
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 5: CO M P O S ITI O N R E FI N E M E NT Round Robbin Written Review 2 Today we had another RRWR. Before this review, I felt pretty good about my design; I felt like it was mostly well developed and almost done. After reading the comments from my peers, I began to see some of the problems that they were mentioning. Most of the problems were pointing to the handlettering on top of the green leaf vector.
I have already started working on making some of the revisions that my classmates and Leslie have suggested for me. I am feeling very good about where I am headed now and I am excited for the final presentation next class.
I am so glad that we had this review today because it has made me realize some important things. I have realized that getting feedback is one thing, but really listening to it and considering what your peers have said is a completely different and worthwhile thing.
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 6: PRO D U C E Production of Final High-Quality Comp I have finally printed my Sea Mail Spice Company labels off on high-quality Neenah label paper. I like producing the final comps even though it is probably the most terrifying, nerveracking part of the process. I always make sure to have a sharp knife, a steady hand, a clear mind & enough time to make these comps because we all know: A LOT can go wrong. It is importnat to be focused and alert during the cutting out and sticking on parts. Overall, I am so happy with how everything looks and how much it has changed between now and last class for our RRWR. As you can see, I have eliminated the blue background on
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the logo, got rid of the handlettering on top of the leaf, and added a pattern to my design. I have taken the central big green leaf and created a pattern out of it. And I have taken the “Certified Caribbean Product” Sticker and made that the center banner of the design. I have gotten rid of the Nutrition Facts and made some adjustments to the typography. I am so proud of myself for being open to change and pushing further. The only thing I really wish I would have changed is the size of the oval. This part is a problem because it does not perfectly fit the taper on the bottles I have chosen to use. Hopefully, I will be able to figure out how to fix this.
One of our professors, Meena Kahlili, always says, “Design is never done”. I believe this extremely accurate. This project has taught me the true value of feedback from my professors and my classmates. It has taught me to always take a step back and think about how it could be better. I think if I always keep these things in mind, I will produce great work.
the above image displays the final comp of my Bahamian Conch Salad Seasoning Package Design
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the above image displays the final comp of my Cuban Chicken Fricase Seasoning Package Design
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the above image displays the final comp of my Jamaican Jerk Shrimp Seasoning Package Design
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S P R I N T PRO JECTS
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 1: EXPLO R E & S PR I NT Sea Mail Spice Company spiced rum For sprint number one I designed a label for Sea Mail Spice Company brand spiced Rum. An image of this design is shown below. I have made, yet again, another pattern.
After showing the class my work, Leslie mentioned that my round “stamp” logo could become a separate label. I think this is a really great idea; I wish I would have thought of that!
During the three hours in class, I spent about 30 minutes doing research and sketches and the rest of the time designing.
I think this was a productive three hours, maybe it was not the best label I could have made but it could work! Just two more sprints to go
•
RTIFIED •
CE
until the end of this class and the end of my junior year. Time sure flies when you are having fun!
CARIBBE AN •P
RODUCT
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C ARIBBE AN SPICED RUM aged for 15 years at sea
46% alc./vol. (92 Proof) 750ml
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 2 : EXPLO R E & S PR I NT DIY Women toolkit For the second sprint I designed a label for a toolkit for the DIY Women brand. When I was finished designing, I created a Photoshop comp (shown below) of what the toolbox might look like. It did not really work out how I had planned, but it at least gets the main idea across to the viewer.
I need more practice with creating my own PHotoshop comps. I am glad that I was not afraid to jump in and try it anyway, though. Overall, I am glad that I had the chance to go back to the DIY Women brand and explore a bit more.
The pattern on the toolbox is supposed to represent a recycled plastic material. I could not find a sustainable, environmentally friendly toolbox, so I just made it myself. I think the reason that I am not really happy with the comp is because it just is not very beautiful or precise.
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JO U R N A L E NTRY 3: EXPLO R E & S PR I NT Sea Mail Spice Company Store For my final sprint of the semester I decided to make a storefront mockup for Sea Mail Spice Company. Located in North Bimini, The Bahamas this cute and comfy cabana is home to an authentic Caribbean bar, restaurant and gift shop. All of the locals go here for their famous conch salad and cocktails. There are also handmade crafts and T-shirts for sale in the gift shop. During this three hour class I was able to create mockups of the store front, a T-shirt, a beer glass and a friendship bracelet. I was extremely happy with how much I got done in such a short amount of time. I really love the pepper pattern
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I made on the fly. I have begun to realize that I have an obsession with pattern and a true skill for patternmaking, too. I love making them because I love drawing little illustrations; patterns allow my illustrations to really be seen and noticed in my designs. I really think I want to continue to work on my illustration and patternmaking skills; I think they will be valuable to me in the long run.
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