To start, I created a mood board that showcased packaging designs which had an 'abstract' look to them, and I could use for inspiration. A few caught my eye and I wanted to research them further.
From that, I went off and drew my favourite designs from that mood board and other brands I wanted to merge. My tutor requested that I mix two brands that were completely different and that they were hand drawn so I could understand the visual language, colour and the typography used.
This is my first sheet of development. I was interested by the left design as I thought it was a clever way of tackling the issue of digestive problems. Having these type of meats as target practice was creative. However, the right design caught my eye as it was bold in colour and could work with a variety of colours. It inspired me to analyse various chewing gum brands as I was interested in this type of packaging.
I found these packaging designs suitable for hotels as they are compact and easy to use. They also linked highly with the type of product they were (the left package being designed to allow the person to spread their butter and the right design shaped as a strawberry). However, it was not standing out for me so I discarded these type of products.
After careful thought, I decided to focus on analysing energy drinks and chewing gum brands as I am a fan of energy drink packaging designs and that abstract design of the chewing gum brand really caught my eye. It was from that I moved onto drawing the packaging of these categories.
The first energy drink brand I looked at was Red Bull. They are a highly recognisable brand and have a distinctive colour scheme. I noticed there was not too much text and images on show and the use of colours suggests 'intellect', along with emphasising "speed, power, risk-taking and aggressiveness." In my designs, I wanted to implement this house style with a chewing gum brand.
The next brand I drew was Relentless. Compared to other logos, this was unique in terms of its complexity and the brashness it showcased off. This type of logo would suit the target audience well (young people) and emphasises the brand is imaginative and a visual creator. It would be interesting to see how this logo would appear on a chewing gum packet.
What instantly grabbed by attention about the logo was the star. The bright yellow colour works brilliantly against the black and would love to implement this into a chewing gum brand. Also, the layout is not too busy and the company have used colours that catch the viewers eye. These are pointers I will be considering when combining two brands.
The use of the black background again has proven effective in helping the colours jump off the can. I also admire how they do not change the layout of the packaging which I think is very important for brand recognition and that the customers are not confused. The simple Monster logo works very well relating to brand values and is not over complicated. For my ideas, I will be considering about a design that works with a variety of colours.
The final energy drink brand I drew was Mountain Dew. I found this design to be different to others as the vibrant colour of the bottle was a stand out feature for me. Also, the logo has a sense of movement about it, which links highly with the whole purpose of an energy drink. It was also pointed out by my tutor that having a darker green colour for the logo works well alongside the bright bottle as it is not too distressing on the eye. Again, I would be considering this for my designs.
Feeling confident with the energy drink brands, I moved onto chewing gum brands. I started off with Tic Tac and thought this logo could do with an update. However, the designers have taken the advantage of using the tic tac's well by using them as the colourful background. I also took note of the slogan "refreshing little lifts". I have an idea of using that along with an abstract design I previously analysed.
I also researched other chewing gum brands. I noticed all the packaging was compact and could easily be placed into a bag with ease. With the Extra packet, the colour blue suggests minty freshness and relates to a typical gum colour. With Trident, it is clear that they have used a background colour that relates to the gum flavour. This is something to remember when adding colour to my designs. Finally, the 5 gum is a contrast in terms of layout as I found it to be a modern design compared to others. The packet suggests a product that is stimulating and lively and again, the logo is simple and is easy to remember. It was going to be interesting merging these with energy drinks!
This was my first design idea for my packaging. I have taken the Gubble Bum packaging, the Rockstar energy drink star and the Tic Tac font and colourful tic tac's. It was a great start as the abstract design involved lifting the outer packaging to access the tic tac's. But by doing that, the packet reveals the Tic Tac slogan "refreshing little lifts". I love this and will be keeping this design. However, I want to implement the Rockstar house style further by using that brand's font. I decided to develop the logo further.
I used the Rockstar font and a brighter green for the star. I tried an abbreviation similar to how the Rockstar logo appears but I do not think every customer would recognise who the brand is. Plus, it would be the only piece of text on the front packet to tell the viewer what the company is called. Therefore, I tried another idea, in which I included the full name of the brand. I found this to work a lot better and will be implementing this when making my designs on Illustrator.
On this design, I combined the packet of Extra gum and implemented the Red Bull house style. I thought this could be a new market Red Bull can enter, creating 'energy gum' for customers. I would like to try this idea on Illustrator.
I combined the packaging of Monster and house style colours, and then used the 5 energy logo. I thought this would look great as a new energy drink in which it can "unleash your 5 senses". Also, the colour of the logo can change and would still be distinct (like the Monster cans).
The final design I completed was similar to the Red Bull one. Again, I thought of doing 'energy gum' by combining the Relentless logo and colours and Trident packaging. It is not my favourite design as it is too simple but I still wanted to make it on Illustrator to help build up my experience.
Following from drawing out my ideas, I moved onto creating them on Illustrator. After doing this, I was definitely not taking this further as it is too basic and trying to draw the Relentless logo for real would have taken me a lot of time. Also, I do not think I implemented the Trident packaging design enough so I discarded this idea.
I did struggle a lot trying to make this net as trying to line up the background was very difficult. Also, again I do not think I implemented the brand design of Extra gum well so I was happy to discard this idea.
At the time of completing this, I thought this was the better idea. Unfortunately, I did not have a net of a can so I had to use one I thought resembled the packaging of one. Still, I think I did a better job of combining the two brand values and do think this design could work well as a genuine product. This idea did have potential.
I was seriously impressed with the potential of this design. I created the tic tac's on Illustrator and feel they look great on the packaging. I was very satisfied with this idea and wanted to develop it further with other nets. I was also happier with myself that I have done a better job of combining the brands together. However, I think a few edits can be made, such as the layout of the tic tac's and making the text bolder as from a distance it cannot be seen well. This could be an issue with customers who may have poor vision.
I attempted the design on another net and you can see that I have given the tic tac's a better structure. You can also see on the right the inside packaging which will reveal the message. On the other hand, you might not be able to see the bolder text I implemented. Because of this, I would not be going further with this net as I think it is too small for the viewer to see.
This was the hardest net to use as given by my tutor, but I wanted to give myself a challenge. I managed to understand how the box would be put together but I struggled lining up the tic tac's right. Because of that, I discarded this net and went back to the first one. I was a lot happier and confident with that box.
Confident with the right net, I implemented the changes I did on the other nets. You can see the text a lot better and the design has a better structure to it. This was a practice print so I was ready to make the final product!
These are photos of my final product showing all sides of the package and the message when you lift up the outer box. It has been very rewarding to create a net that I designed on Illustrator that I was satisfied with.
I have now shown you all four projects I completed at university so far. There have been a few late nights but overall, I feel I have improved my skills from my foundation course and am looking forward to undertaking the next two projects! I shall also be providing a reflective review for all the graphic design projects on here soon.
Mike
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