There are many notable examples of packaging at its best and here are just a few personal favourites to illustrate a number of points
Especially noteworthy is some of the own-brand work done by Boots, Asda, Superdrug and Marks & Spencer. With these retailers' ranges you will see the designer's craft at its most creative. Many packs use wit to arrest attention through clever use of illustration and typography. Marks & Spencer is also driving innovation with packs that aid the cooking experience - such as its steam cuisine range - and promoting the provenance of its food by putting farmers and chefs on the pack.
Finally, there are two simple questions you can ask yourself to judge whether packaging design is great:
- Is it different?
- Is it relevant?
The neck design of Toilet Duck and the tiger-skin graphics of Wild Brew are both great examples of packs that pass these two simple tests.
The packaging design examples given here also answer these two questions well. And although most are food and drink examples, the lessons are transferable to other retail sectors.
Project: This Water
Client: Innocent
Designer: Pearlfisher
Year: 2007
Pearlfisher has been helping Innocent manage its phenomenal impact on the smoothie sector over the past few years.
Recent work has involved rebranding Innocent's Juicy Water range – a product that owes more to water than fruit which consequently felt awkward under the innocent name. The new brand – This Water – focuses on the ubiquity and versatility of water, and features a hand-scribbled observation and image on each pack. Its fresh and charming personality clearly references Innocent but also has the strength and versatility to move forward as its very own brand.
Project: Bournville dark chocolate
Client: Cadbury Bournville
Designer: Design Bridge
Year: 2006
Encouraged by antioxidant health claims and its sophisticated adult perception, many more consumers are embracing dark chocolate. With major confectionery players extending their countlines to include a dark variant, research published in 2006 estimated that the UK dark chocolate market will double in size by 2010. To tap into the market’s growth and profitability, Cadbury briefed Design Bridge to maximise the potential of its 100-year-old Bournville brand: stable, familiar and trusted but dated and with an older consumer base.
The contemporary solution includes a spontaneous chocolate-coloured splash on Bournville’s trademark red. Bournville’s stylishly extrovert personality is reinforced by the new Deeply Dark sub-brand, which connects with younger consumers. Design Bridge has managed to reinvent our grandparents’ favourite brand whilst reinforcing its ability to meet today’s lifestyle choices, a century since entering the market.
Project: Keeping an old brand fresh
Client: Perrier
Designer: Dragon Rouge
Year: 2001-02
It may be odd to include Perrier as a modern example of packaging best practice, given that the design of the bottle originated 100 years ago. But French consultancy Dragon Rouge has kept the design fresh in an instructive fashion. The classic bottle shape and bow-tie label are perhaps untouchable. However, by introducing seasonal special designs to celebrate Christmas and the party season the brand has kept pace with modern times.
In 2001, Perrier introduced its first plastic line variant but the iconic shape remained. In 2002, Dragon Rouge won the top prize at the 'grand prix strategies du design' for its flavoured sub-brand Perrier Fluo. Again it combined the familiar classic iconography of the core brand alongside new graphics and colours, helping Perrier to develop new products in new markets without damaging its heritage.
Project: Revamping a 60 year old brand
Client: Dylon
Designer: Coley Porter Bell
Year: 2007
Coley Porter Bell has been working with dyeing faithfuls Dylon to completely revamp their brand for the first time in 60 years. Famous for their round disk dyes Dylon are the only consumer dyes manufacturer in the UK and distribute to over 70 countries. Despite a good level of awareness the brand was losing relevance with today’s consumer.
At the heart of the re-brand is the positioning of Dylon as ‘experts in colour’ which better reflects their many decades of experience. The first new design is an innovative laundry product called ‘Colour Protect & Wash’ which is the only one on the market to protect colour and prevent runs – darks, lights and stripes can all be washed together. Using dramatic black packaging, this is a radical move for the laundry sector.
Project: Sainsbury’s SO organic range
Client: Sainsbury’s
Designer: Williams Murray Hamm
Year: 2005
In 2005 Williams Murray Hamm (WMH) created a radical new design for Sainsbury’s organic own brand range to help reclaim its historical No.1 slot, lost to Tesco.
Renamed ‘Sainsbury’s SO organic’ by WMH, the design idea was simple: be ruthlessly honest and organic consumers would respond positively. The packaging should celebrate raw organic produce as nature intended, roots and all. The 'Goodness unearthed' theme was inspired by botanical bookplates. Each package shows a beautiful sapling (usually the key ingredient) and annotations around the plant help tell the story of the product.
The brand went on to overtake Tesco as the UK’s No1 own label organic food brand. Within only a week of trading the re-design had paid for itself.
Project: Kotex
Client: Kimberley-Clark
Designer: Coley Porter Bell
Year: 2003
Coley Porter Bell's revamp of Kimberley Clark's sanitary protection brand Kotex is another story of how packaging design can lift a brand in decline without any other marketing spend.
Kotex was a weak brand with declining sales, it needed to revitalise its brand and overhaul its image to compete with brand leaders such as 'Always' and appeal to younger women. Coley Porter Bell's strategy was to reposition the product, moving it away from the sanitary protection market and shifting it towards the personal care category. Coley Porter Bell had to make a discreet product stand out.
Research revealed that female consumers wanted to be empowered and proud of their womanliness, rather than hiding it coyly. Acting on this information, Coley Porter Bell went all out on the colour red, using assertive feminine objects like lipsticks, hearts and spiked heels for the package covers.
Following launch of the new packaging brand identification soared by 780% in Western European markets and in Central Europe. Perception of Kotex as a 'feminine brand' has likewise increased by 144%. Kotex is now in a far stronger market position. The company has increased sales in Eastern Europe in particular, especially in countries such as the Czech Republic, where it previously had no presence, and has won the admiration and respect of its customers.
Project: President's Choice own label range
Client: Loblaw's supermarkets, Canada
Year: 1984 to present day
This brand was probably one of the first true premium own-label brands in the world. Unlike many premium own brands it does not use obvious premium cues, such as the use of gold foil or names such as 'best' or 'finest'. The brand has been built on the premise that 'the president' of Loblaw searches the world for special products. The back-of-pack text always talks passionately about the unique qualities of each particular 'find'.