The Cereal Tale

Sankhalina

& Pratyush's

History of Graphic Design 20th March 2011

*cover art inspired by Kellogg's Corflakes cereal packaging.

THE CEREAL TALE

CONTENTS

PAGE

List of Images

1

Introduction

4

The Beginning

5

The Branding

6

Through The Ages

7

Cartons And Cartoons

11

Pop Goes The Cereal

13

Health Hysteria

16

India Inc.

19

The End? Or The Beginning?

22

Sources

24

LIST OF IMAGES

IMAGE

PAGE

SOURCE

0.1 0.2 0.3

4 5 6

http://www.theimaginaryworld.com http://kellogghistory.com http://www.gettyimages.com/

1.1 1.2 1.3

7 7 7

http://www.oceansbridge.com http://www.amazon.com Tambani, Michael. The Look Of the Century

2.1 2.2 2.3

8 8 8

Tambani, Michael. The Look Of the Century http://www.truetiques.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com

3.1

9

Tambani, Michael. The Look Of the Century

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

10 10 10 10

Tambani, Michael. The Look Of the Century http://www.theimaginaryworld.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6

11 11 11 12 12 12

http://www.coverbrowser.com http://kellogghistory.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com http://www.theimaginaryworld.com

6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5

13 13 13 13 14

http://www.the imaginaryworld.com http://www.the imaginaryworld.com http://www.amazon.com http://www.coverbrowser.com http://kellogghistory.com

1

IMAGE

PAGE

SOURCE

6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12

14 14 14 15 15 15 15

http://www.the imaginaryworld.com http://www.coverbrowser.com http://www.coverbrowser.com http:// filmic-light.blogspot.com http://www.the imaginaryworld.com http://www.coverbrowser.com http://www.coverbrowser.com

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8

16 16 16 16 16 17 18 18

http://kellogghistory.com http://www.delish.com http://business.timesonline.co.uk Tambani, Michael. The Look Of the Century. http://www.flikr.com http://www.gworkshop-design.blogspot.com http://blog.incipeindustries.com http://www.treehugger.com

8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11

19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 21 21 21

http://indiamart.com http://indiamart.com http://indiamart.com http://indiamart.com http://yourmarketingmoster.worpress.com http://www.shantis.com http://www.shantis.com http://www.shantis.com http://indiamart.com http://indiamart.com http://storrz.com

9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4

22 22 22 23

http://www.thedieline.com http://packagingdesignarchive.com http://www.amazon.com http://www.wolfeyebrows.wordpress.com

2

THE CEREAL TALE

O

ld Mr. Porridge was a healthy, humble, and easy to digest breakfast meal loved by people throughout the world. Ms. Instant Cereal, daughter to Mr. Porridge, was even more of an instant hit. Her popularity soared immediately after she hit the market; but she was a petite little woman, very delicate, fragile and vulnerable, she couldn’t reach to her fans without help. It was then that Ms. Cereal met the strong, well-built, well groomed Mr. Carton. It was love at first sight.

Since then, there has been no looking back for the couple. Both have changed over the course. Ms. Cereal got makeovers after makeovers and so did Mr. Carton. Ms. Cereal even went through a phase of “no sugar and trans fats” while Mr. Carton experimented with his looks, always matching the current trends.

0.1

Even after all these changes, they hold strong and are very much in love; as they were the day they met each other’s loving gaze for the first time. As far as the people are concerned, they just can’t stop adoring the two together…

Learning about the history of graphic design through cereal packaging seems quite absurd. After all cereal packaging has always been the same, the same box with colourful characters on the front eating a healthy bowl of cereal.

Well that is what we thought too, at first, but once we delved deeper into this area, we were bombarded with information. We saw patterns we never thought existed, areas we had never explored and signs that we had never decoded.

In this article, we discuss those various aspects of cereal packaging, especially looking into how cereal packaging changed over the ages, keeping up with cultural, other mass changes and popular ideas, to maintain its popularity amongst the people, by subliminally manipulating them to make this product a part of their daily lives.

4

The Beginning Like many other inventions in history, the carton came into being as an accidental invention. In Brooklyn, around 1970, a printer and paper bag maker Robert Gair was printing a series of seed bags. During the print run, a metal rule used to crease the bags worked itself upwards a few millimetres and actually cut the bag. Gair immediately realised the potential of cutting and creasing board in one operation and developed a whole series of carton-making proceduresďż˝.

One of the first user of this new technology was W.K. Kelloggďż˝ who devised the famous flaked cereal which was an immediate hit in hospitals and later, all over the United States. Soon, other people caught on to the idea and in a short time the market was flooded with cereals in cartons.

0.2

1,2 source: wikipedia.org

5

The Branding Kellogg’s is also one of the first examples of product branding. W.K. Kellogg took the biggest ever billboard in Time’s Square and ran his signature diagonally across it. All Kellogg’s boxes still bear this signature�.

Through the ages Manufactures have understood the importance of branding and use it effectively to lure customers to their products. Some of the uses of branding are: Differentiation: Brands helps Distinguish a product. They tell us why a particular product is better than the others.

Advertisement: good branding attracts the consumers’ attention and holds their interest.

Information: Offers information about the product; its net contents, method of using, expiry & price.

Visual reminder: most importantly, It must provide a strong visual reminder the product is a good one and worth buying again.

0.3

1 source:kellogghistory.com

6

1.1

1.2

Through The Ages Cereal packaging began only in the late 19th century, with the advent of instant cereals like Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Quaker Oats, Post’s Grape-Nut and Force Wheat Flakes. Unlike most other forms of design, packaging is rarely associated with a single designer. Rather designs evolve with each new era.

1900-19: shopping for groceries was changing from traditional reliance on the grocer, to the manufacturers’ designs influencing consumers’ choices. By now offset colour printing� had become a common phenomenon. Various hues were used with the Art Nouveau style, from which the packaging of this period gained inspiration, to create highly decorated designs.

The style was very organic. Proportions of the boxes were often exaggerated to make them longer or taller. The typography too was decorated and swirly, going well with the illustrations on the boxes.

1.3 1 offset printing: a commonly used printing technique where the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface (source: wikipwdia.org)

7

1920-29: post the First World War, the number of servants in the house declined and the family unit reduced, encouraging the trend towards smaller pack sizes. Instant snacks became popular. The graphics too needed to be adapted to these sizes.

The backs of cereal cartons started being filled with information and trivia; becoming a common medium of breakfast entertainment (img. 2.3).

2.1

2.2

It was during this time that Kellogg developed the bag-in-box method of production. He used a waxed, heat sealed bag known as WaxTiteďż˝ store the cereal inside the box, leaving it fresher for longer.

2.3 1 source:kellogghistory.com

8

1930-39: During this decade, not only did Art Deco become popular, but graphics became noticeably bolder and simpler, catching the eye more immediately. Designs became uncomplicated and packaging and printing technology too improved, with usage of new materials like cellophane and aluminum and different methods to print on them.

1.1

3.1 9

1940-49: in the 1940s life was dominated by a second world war that affected every aspect of society. Packing too had to be adapted to suit these situations. Images related to the war became common. Printing ink was in short supply as a result a lot of the packs were in just 2 coloursďż˝.

The concept of packaging became more of a functional one.

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

1 source: Tambani, Michael. The Look of The Century. Great Britain. Dorling Kindersley Limited (1996)

10

Cartons and Cartoons 1950-59: This is one section which everyone is familiar with. Manufactures realised that kids were an easy target for their cereal. One of the first moves was undertaken by Kellogg’s, which introduced Rice Crispies in the 1930s, marketed exclusively for the children.

5.1

Ptinting drastically evolved after the Second World War. The range of colours increased and printng of photographs became common. The manufactures used these techniques to lure the children.

There was an explosion of cartoon characters all over cereal boxes. This again, was pioneered by Kellogg’s, who introduced the character, Cornelius the Cockerel in 1957�, which was meant to be the symbol of waking up and getting the morning off to a good start.

There was a need for instantly recognisable products to sell themselves on a supermarket shelf.

Along with the cartoon characters, the colours on cereal packages too became bolder and happier.

The name became smaller and the characters and promotional messages like NEW!”, “BRAND NEW!”, “ALL NEW!” got more importance.

5.2

5.3 1.1

1 source: kelloggs.co.uk

11

Manufactures realised that with fancy packets and colourful cereals were not enough to lure children, they needed something more than their product to sell their product. This started the concept of free gifts. These included a wide array of things, from puzzles and cut-outs at the back of the carton to toys and comic books to free trips to different parts of the world.

5.4

5.5

5.7

5.6

There were a few very strange free gifts as well, like savings bonds (img. 5.7) and working models of “atomic submarines with atomic fuel� (img. 5.6).

12

Pop Goes the Cereal

6.1

6.2

1960-1969: cereal manufacturers had understood the vast potential of popular culture and started tapping in its various aspects to sell their wares.

The next big thing after cartoons was none other than superheroes out and comic books. Comic books first came out during the World War II but their popularity gradually declined post the war.

It was in the late 50’s that these comic books rose from the grave and began to be made into movies, resulting in immense popularity of the characters, which then trickled down to the cereal box graphics.

A few samples were targeted specifically to the adult consumers (img. 5.6). Video games played their part too (img. 5.7).

6.3

6.4

13

6.5

6.6

6.7

6.8

This was also the period of the post World War 2 baby boom�. So what else but babies found their presence in cereal boxes. The idea was to market cereals as a healthy food that will make one’s babies grow healthier and happier. Development of photography found immense use in cereal box graphics. Along with babies, there were photographs of bowl full of ready to eat cereal with blushing fruits, and milk pouring from the top splashing all over.

1 The increase in the birth rate following the return of servicemen at the end of World War 2 (source: en.wikitionary.or)

14

Movies are something that no one misses.

Disney ruled cereal cartons in the 1950-60s. images 6.11 and 6.12 are movie examples from more recent times.

6.9

6.10

6.11

6.12

15

Health Hysteria

7.1

7.2

1980 onwards: health became a major concern. Everyone wanted to look like the skinny models on magazine covers. All bran and high fiber cereals made a comeback.

Diet cereals became popular, especially with women. Sports stars started being featured on the packs. The nutrition content section on the cartons became bolder and the carton itself went on a diet. The popular characters introduced in the 1950s have also undergone a make-over, becoming more human and muscular.

In img. 7.3, to emphasie the new cereal’s high calcium content, the packaging resembles a milk carton. It is thin, with ample white space, which makes the graphics seem to float with weightlessness.

7.3

7.4

7.5

16

7.6

Recently, there has been a growing demand for organic cereals, devoid of synthetic chemicals, produced in an eco-friendly way. This has had its effect on the way these cereals are packaged as well, with the usage of earthy colours and recycled materials, often the cereal showing through the packet.

7.7

7.8

18

India Inc. Cereal packaging in India is n entire ball game altogether. Maybe not instant cornflakes and wheat flakes and other popular western cereals, but India too has been consuming its local counterparts like daliya and sooji. By reading Indian cereal packaging graphics one can clearly tell what sells here.

8.1

8.2

Firstly, it is the whole notion of abundance of food in India that cereal companies exploit over and over again. Using words like ‘Bharpur’, which means bountiful, and imagery of cereals in abundance, flowing out of gunny bags is very common. Many of the covers also show happy families enjoying a wholesome diet. In image 8.2, No one cares if the spoon is too big to go down the child’s mouth. As long as it is ‘bharpur’, it must be good.

Another trend that can be seen in Indian cereal packaging is the use of superheroes on the boxes. So they make cereal boxes featuring Indian superheroes and divine figures, that are no less than superheroes. They even name their brands like Gopal Bhog (img. 8.4) and Raama Bhoj (img. 8.1) after the Gods.

8.3

8.4

19

8.5

8.6

8.7

8.8

The third tactic incorporated by the Indian brands is cheap copies of western graphics.

The catch here is how to sell western products to an Indian audience, which is not very familiar with instant cereal, and convince them to make it a part of their life. So a few companies decide to copy the graphics and colour schemes form brands like Kellogg ’s and name their cereal brands like ‘ Tasty Treat’ (img. 6.9) which to any Indian means yummy and ‘bharpur ’ and therefore, worth a try. Sometimes they don’t even take that trouble (img 8.6 – 8.8).

20

Keeping current trends in mind the ideas of ‘healthy’, ‘organic’, and ‘strong’ haven’t fallen behind in the Indian cereal market.

8.10

8.9

8.11

The end? Or the beginning?

With the introduction of computer printing and availability of different materials, cereal packaging has seen a huge jump, with innovative forms, eyegrabbing colours and innovative graphics.

9.1

But with So much consumption and wastage, various institutions are questioning the need of packaging cereals in cartons Some 2.8m bowls of Corn Flakes are consumed every day in Britain. The cardboard packaging produced each year from Corn Flakes alone amounts to more than 5,000 tons. Overall, the UK disposes of an estimated 10m tons of packaging a year�.

Consumers too are becoming increasingly frustrated with the excessive levels of packaging, which are routinely wrapped in layers of plastic and cardboard.

9.2

Kellogg’s, which first started selling Corn Flakes in 1906, said it had retained cardboard boxes until now to protect the quality of the cereals, but admitted going box less was “one of a number of options” it would be considering�.

9.3

1,2 source: business.timesonline.co.uk 7.6

9.4

‌ while Ms. Cereal was busy following her regime of different kinds of sugarless, trans-fat free and organic diet she failed to notice that Mr. Carton had gone way overboard with his expenditures in grooming himself consuming and wasting insane amounts of resources. She came to know all about it when her fans started pointing fingers at his habits. She gave him an ultimatum, that he either changes his ways to become more environment-friendly or she will call it quits.

What is the future of this relationship which has survived over a hundred years?

Did Mr. Carton ever see this coming? Is he willing enough to change for the greater good, if not for himself?

Only time will tell‌ 23

Sources http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/health/cereal.html http://www.kelloggcompany.com/ http://www.kellogghistory.com/ http://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2004/kadish.htm http://www.museumofbrands.com/Worksheets/Graphics.pdf http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Trapped-In-A-Box--The-History-Of-Carton-Revealed/558 http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcereal.htm http://www.strangekidsclub.com/?p=323 http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2010/5/12/student-spotlight-oatrageous.html http://www.tradeindia.com http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/cereal-boxes http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article6544703.ece http://www.packworld.com/news-10483 http://www.konsument.at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatena?oldid=0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_cereal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_breakfast_cereals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Cereals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_(cereal) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellogg_Company http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_printing#Colour_printing http://www.colorsourceinc.com/oldsite/Pages/history.htm http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/printing_3.htm

Tambani, Michael. The Look of The Century. Great Britain. Dorling Kindersley Limited (1996)

24

pratyush89@gmail.com sankhalina@gmail.com