Neneh Patel
OUIL501 COP
Discuss, in the context of semiotics, food packaging as a language system Packaging design consists of a number of different elements that can be combined to make up the syntax of the final designed product - it is in this way that it can be classed as its own language. As Clark argues, it ‘includes all the past and future contexts of its use’ making language ‘as vast and complex as lived experience’ (2006). It has it’s own history and uses which have changed and developed over time. It is also a means of communication, not limited to the use of words; it combines the visual image and written word in a way that allows them to be seen as equals. This equality between image and text was seen in the approach of the Bauhaus movement who incorporated images into academic writing in order to communicate more effectively. Kandinsky also 'used the metaphor of verbal “language” to discuss the laws of visual form’ (Lupton, 1988) as part of the development of the Bauhaus education model. In packaging, there are a limited amount of visual combinations of image and text. In comparison, written language is also constrained, if not moreso; its main function is to be understood in a particular tongue. For example, Arabic calligraphy can be seen as a form of visual exploration in type; but it must still be understood as such when it is read. However, when communicating within visual language, the nature of the images made are universal and so can be read by anyone as a universal language through imagemaking. It can be seen that the design of a product’s packaging makes up it’s use as a word. The packaging, when compared directly to the linguistic breakdown of a word into different ‘phonemes’, (Cobley, 1997) can be argued to consist of the elements; colour, shape, texture, line, tone, pattern, and the form of the object itself. Lupton recounts Kandinsky’s exploration of simple geometric shapes as ‘forms belonging to the first sphere of graphic language’ and this was realised as a ‘sphere of draftsmanship with its limited means of expression, akin to a language without declensions, conjugations, prepositions, or prefixes’ (Naylor, 1987 cited in Lupton, 1988). Although Kandinsky only explored abstract art, his work was built on by György Kepes in his book Language of Vision which ‘studies visual “laws” in isolation and then applies them to art and advertising design’ (Lupton, 1988). All of these products are combined into a syntax that is used and exchanged by the consumer, This is supported by Jameson, who argues that ‘all perceptual systems are already languages in their own right’ (1972 cited in Chandler, 2007). The formal elements act like words and are arranged according to the rules of design. The ‘grammar’ rules that they conform to are related to the ideology behind the product or brand. As Voloshinov argues, ‘grammar is ideology’, (cited in Clark, 2006). Even though the formal elements can be arranged according to the rules of design, or broken, in the case of post-modernism, they must conform to the rules of society in which they exist. This is a result of what Gombrich observed as an inability to understand a message ‘without access to the relevant social and textual codes’ (cited in Chandler, 2007). The language that packaging consists of is regarded as a form of social capital. This can can be used between people to influence behaviour and form the basis of value judgements in social interactions. As Malinowski states, ‘language is power’, (cited in Clark, 2006). The language of packaging and products that make this up are ‘a mode, a form, a concrete reality of relations between people’ (Clark, 2006) that depend on the codes of society to exist and reinforce them. When someone buys a product, they are seen as being able to converse in that language and buying into the ideology of that particular brand. The consumer must also be able to identify with the personality of the brand. As McLuhan poses, ‘it offers a way of life that is for everybody or nobody’ and is often dictated by its audience. This can be achieved by exploiting the link ‘that both colors and products have connotative meanings (sets of associations and overtones)’ (Doyle, Bottomley, 2006). If a product’s colour is similar to that of the ideology, it will be better received by the consumer. As such, ‘the notion of congruity has figured prominently in the advertising and persuasion literatures’ (Drolet and Aaker, 2002 cited in Doyle, Bottomley, 2006).
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This is also established through production on a mass scale - meaning that the aura surrounding a product lies in the brand that it represents. You buy into the beliefs that the brand will make you fitter, leaner, healthier or stronger. This is supported by Berger, who says that what we see is affected by ‘what we know or what we believe’(1972). Although Benjamin argues that ‘that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura’ it can be reinstated in the form of the aura surrounding the personality of a brand. This is built on by the ‘strong correlation between the use of colors and consumers’ perceptions of a brand’s personality’ (Doyle, Bottomley, 2006). This can be also supported by Klein (2005), who argues that ‘they do not relate directly to one product … but instead a set of values’ that are being sold to the consumer. The products invested in by the consumer are collectively used as a way to identify people’s sense of belonging to a group. McLuhan (1994) notes that advertisements can be a great indicator of a society as it shows the ‘richest and most faithful daily reflections that any society ever made’ and encompasses a range of activities. This is supported by Klimchuk and Krasovec, who also observe that ‘packaging design reveals much about the cultural values of the market’ (2006). By buying a product, the consumer indicates that they understand the language of that product and identify with its values. The consumption of the product, the language is a ‘type of wealth-accumulation’ that occurs as it is coded to link to a social standing. This can be realistic or aspirational, as Hutches notes, ‘purchasing decisions reflect how the consumer wants their lifestyle to be, not as it actually is’ (2014). By simplifying the design of the packaging for a value, or own-brand product, the viewer is shocked out of the immersive environment of the supermarket. As Ryan and Schwartz discovered when exploring : ‘in a conscious comparison of a photographic image with a cartoon image of the same thing the photograph is likely to be judged as more realistic, the mental schemata involved in visual recognition may be closer to the stereotypical simplicity of cartoon images than to photographs. People can identify an image as a hand when it is drawn as a cartoon more quickly than when they are shown a photograph of a hand.’ The value range comparison of the packaging compared to the branded products allows the consumer to better differentiate between the price ranges, but can also serve to alienate the consumer from the safety of their ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ (Coleridge, cited in Chandler, 2007). This means that the illusions of the coded connotative signs created by the environment of the supermarket are shattered. Some stores have been quick to remedy this as own-brand products make ‘over 50 percent of consumer product sales in the U.K.’ (Grushka, 2014). By using simple design or illustrations and limiting the colours used, the consumer is encouraged to spend more to be seen as understanding the more ‘complex’ language of luxury packaging. This is based on the instinctive reactions to packaging in the consumer - ‘62-90% of people make snap judgments about products within 90 seconds based on color alone’ (Hutches, 2014). Some examples of simple, textural imagery are shown in Figure 3, where the emphasis is on colour and texture to create associations with luxury brands. The use of packaging language in order to communicate to the consumer serves to reinforce the class divide by offering an purely image based world to live in. McLuhan proposed the future as being a world where people live ‘within the closed spaces governed by the rule of images’ (1994). These spaces can be found in the supermarkets and online stores available to consumers. It is in these spaces that colour is more of an indicator of potential sale than content of the text. This is partly a result of McLuhan’s ideas about content following form (1994). The value of the objects as a brand lies in their presentation through packaging. By making the colour scheme match up to the intentions of the products, and taking into account the implicit associations with colour and the product, the viewer can make a value judgement about the product within. It has been shown that
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this form of ‘conceptual fluency’ actually ‘leads to a more positive attitude towards the brand’ (Lewis and Walker, 1989 cited in Doyle, Bottomley, 2006). Morton, a colour consultant notes that ‘color can be a subliminally persuasive force,’ (cited in Klimchuk and Krasovec, 2006) which also supports McLuhan’s position that ‘typography is itself mainly subliminal in effect and pictures are, as well’ (1994). This is reflected in the impactful type-based branding of products in Figure 1a. Despite this, biologist Nicholas Humphrey notes that ‘the human eye sees color before the brain recognises imagery’ (cited in Klimchuk and Krasovec, 2006) which goes some way to explain brands’ focus on imagery over text, as seen in Figure 1b. The power of packaging language serves to reinforce ideas of simplicity as higher art, thereby giving the products more value. The current focus on simplicity in natural and organic produce is reflected in illustration trends which blend the lines between meaning and packaging. According to Klein (2005), the growth in global ad spending “now outpaces the growth of the world economy by one-third.” This includes spending on the packaging of products in order to become recognisable and iconic. As a result of the growth in the health foods, supermarket sales of organic foods have grown by 6.1% in 2016 which tops off five years of strong growth, encompassing a £2.09 billion industry. Even Tesco, which has seen difficulties since the recession has seen a 15% rise in organic sales in the past year. Artists such as Tatiana Boyko and Lara Harwood (Figure 1b) have all been able to capitalise on this trend as their works heavily reference nature. Accompanying this is the belief that companies see themselves as ‘“meaning brokers”’ (Klein, 2005) first and foremost, with a secondary focus on product. As a result of the meaning-focussed marketing, brands are trying to steer away from the appetiteappeal illustration. That version of packaging design offered the audience the ‘“serving suggestion”’ for the product, with the involvement of utensils and props which might be associated with the product. The move away from this relates the the growth of, in terms of health-food products, the treatment of the packaging as a product in itself. Oftentimes there are instances of the packaging being limited edition, and collectible (Figure 3a). It is not enough to be distinctive in packaging design to promote the product within, the packaging itself must be desirable as its own product. This is partly because of consumers’ tendency to look at pictures before they read text (Klimchuk and Krasovec, 2006), but also as a result of the images being able to, in Berger’s words, ‘stimulate the imagination by way of either memory or expectation’. Berger sees this reaction as consumers’ view of ‘the relation between things and ourselves’ which McLuhan proposes can accelerate the link between ‘the psychic and social consequences of the design and patterns’. The focus of contemporary packaging illustration on texture and colour within the image encompasses the ‘mosaic, or iconic principle of simultaneous touch and interplay’ between image and meaning (McLuhan, 1994). Klimchuk and Krasovec extends this belief by offering that ‘images can create visual excitement, memorable experiences, and recognisable “touchpoints”’ which are able to become what the consumer visually identifies with the product (2006). Focussing on image has led brands to see their packaging often as a primary draw for consumers. Berger alludes to this when he speaks of ‘references to quality’, ’bound to be retrospective and traditional’. He argues that ‘it would lack both confidence and credibility if it used a strictly contemporary language’. By referencing traditional artworks, the artists in Figure 1b are able to communicate an authenticity that lays its foundations in classical artworks. This reinforces the view of packaging as a language in itself as it builds upon past works. The references to traditional artworks ‘suggests a cultural authority … which is superior to any vulgar material interest’ and draws the consumers’ attention away from the process of branding taking place. Berger takes this further, to argue that advertisers have understood traditional art ‘more thoroughly than most art historians’ (1972). This is mirrored by Adorno (2009), who points out that the ‘potential solutions that crystallise within the artwork’ can create a ‘fantasy’. This fantasy allows brands to position themselves as being more luxurious. Language develops in an organic way, with some words and phrases becoming more popular and surpassing unpopular ones. Health food packaging design has developed in a similar way, with current moves towards the handmade and authentic jarring against the past clean, stark imagery.
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Texture and colour are important factors in this. As mentioned above, the importance of colour must not be under exaggerated as it relates to the ‘desire for pleasure and need for survival’ (Humphrey, cited in Klimchuk and Krasovec, 2006). Despite traditional colour associations in food packaging; ‘blue is not a color commonly found in nature and therefore has negative connotations’, however in recent years ‘it is used quite frequently’ (Klimchuk and Krasovec, 2006). This is in response to the presentation of products ‘not as “commodities” but as concepts: the brand as experience, as lifestyle’ (Klein, 2005). As part of the lifestyle, we can accept less natural colour pairings as we are ‘looking at the relation between things and ourselves’ (Berger, 1972). McLuhan (1994) sees this as commodities progressing toward having “more and more the character of information,”’ which is rooted in ‘the naming of things rather than the making of things’. Health food brand are embracing this as they start to bring together a link between environmental and alternative food trends which are part of a growing pressure ‘to create ads … in the image of audience motives and desires’ (McLuhan, 1994). As consumer adoption of trends grows, such as that in the organic industry, advertising must then offer ‘an integral part of large social purposes and processes’ as part of brand identity and directly through its packaging. In Figure 2, the work responds to the trends towards authenticity and the possible basis of this in exploitation. Although this has more of a focus on the background to the brands rather than the final production of packaging, it allows the viewer to interact with the process rather than a single image. The aim in this work is to draw attention to the current focus on the handmade and authenticity in food packaging, which can often contrast with the actual methods of production. This has been visually explored through the process of craft, and use of traditional media in order to represent the contrasting of actual and fabricated handmade products. The idea of disguise has also been explored to some extent as a means of incorporating the role of the brand and marketing at work. This is partly in response to the repackaged value ranges now presented by mainstream British supermarkets such as Tesco (Hobbs, 2016) (Figure 3b). As a result of the recession, many people are more critical of what they buy and are reluctant to spend with bigger brands (Tuttle, 2012), which can account for some of the growth in the aesthetic of the handmade. Own-brand now accounts for over 50 percent of consumer product sales in the U.K. (Grushka, 2014). The European private label market has been a trendsetter for other regions around the world, with extremely high consumer perception and innovative product development, packaging and design. For instance, European retailers pioneered the three-tier private label structure (i.e., value, national brand equivalent and premium tiers) that has become prominent in many retail markets around the world. The recent recession has spurred dramatic growth in the private label market, and private label sales have grown almost 20 percent over the last three years (Grushka, 2014). To react to this, value ranges have been rebranded to make it more appealing and to conform to the trends being set by more luxury food brands (Figure 3b). The work in Figure 2 attempts to bring together this newfound sense of ‘authenticity’ and its questionable foundations when offered to the consumer, especially when they are proposed by large corporations. Overall, it is clear that there are links between the packaging design as a language with regard to semiotics. Furthermore, the consumer’s sense of belonging in society is a result of understanding that language. By drawing comparisons between language and packaging, it is easier to understand its progression as a form of communication with the consumer. Brands can now be ‘the conveyors of a grand idea’ and it is whether or not this is authentically communicated that separates moderately successful brands from iconic ones. Contemporary illustration incorporated into food packaging, specifically that of ‘health-foods’, is being used as a tool to market to the consumer a ‘political philosophy’, whether it be ‘about women, the environment and ethical business’ or the ingredients themselves. This is borne out of an implicit cultural value placed on imagery with the handmade aesthetic in packaging design. This ‘authentic’ imagery acts as a marker to the audience, allowing those brands a stronger impression of authenticity, regardless of whether or not they are buying a genuine product. 3 000 words
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Soilassociation.org. (2017). UK Organic Market Tops £2 Billion. [online] Available at: https:// www.soilassociation.org/certification/food-drink/trade-news/2017/uk-organic-market-tops-2-billion/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017]. Storey, John. (2006). Cultural Theory And Popular Culture. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman. Print. Szala, J. (2014). Carluccio's restaurant branding - Grits + Grids. [online] Grits + Grids. Available at: http://gritsandgrids.com/2014/10/carluccios-restaurant-branding/ [Accessed 14 Feb. 2017]. Takahashi, Kaoru and Yukako Kazuno. (2009). @Supermarket. 1st ed. Tokyo, Japan: PIE Books. Print. Trochut, A. (2016). EL MAMA • LA PAPA | Alex Trochut. [online] Alex Trochut. Available at: http:// alextrochut.com/project/el-mama-%E2%80%A2-la-papa/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017]. Tuttle, B. (2012). Brand Names Just Don’t Mean as Much Anymore | TIME.com. [online] TIME.com. Available at: http://business.time.com/2012/11/01/brand-names-just-dont-mean-asmuch-anymore/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2016]. Zyphur, Michael J. (2006). "AS/SA No 18, Zyphur Et Al: "The Social Construction Of Money"". French.chass.utoronto.ca. N.p., 2006. Web. 11 Jan. 2017.
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