Branding

The devil is in the detail.

There aren’t many brands that can boast 150 year history. This is something any brand should be incredibly proud of.

Pedigree, speaks of trust, tradition, craftsmanship, and a timeless quality and needs to be handled in a way that celebrates that tradition. So it’s important that this is communicated with a suitable visual shortcut on-pack.

I stumbled across these drinks from Ben Shaws recently, a brand which is proud to boast this sort of tradition. I have to say the front of pack, rather than be a celebration of rich history, was constructively speaking, a jumbled mess.

The logo is far too fussy and busy with excessive ornamentation that only serves to remove legibility. Supermarket brands need to work successfully from a couple of metres away so that you can immediately decode their USP. This ornamentation could have easily been reduced and handled in a more subtle way.

It doesn’t help that much of the front of pack is taken up by the dog illustration which when doing a bit of a deep dive into the brand, has no relationship to the story.

Successfully communicating tradition on pack is not about piling, multiple ornamental details onto something which only serves overpower the brand logo.

In many cases, less is more. The devil as they say, is in the detail.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing

I am, it has to be said a little confused by the direction of Easter egg pack design.

Many of the big brands are keen to fly the sustainability flag and virtue signal, however, when it comes down to Easter eggs they move in completely the opposite direction!

“But Al, we’ve reduced the amount of cardboard by 65.276%“… Brilliant, your mum will be proud, but why is the box still 12 times larger than the egg?

There is a huge waste of packaging material and volumetrics in these items. Crack one open and it clear to see the amount of dead space. This over-packing increases the amount of materials used and also reduces efficiency in logistics, shipping the things around.

Sure, plastic has been removed, and some of the card components have been reduced, but do we really need this amount of packaging aimed at a younger generation who will only then start to see this as the norm?

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Sustainability

Getting your hierarchy right on pack can be the difference between standing out or disappearing on shelf

Have a look at this example from Deliciously Ella. Compared to some of the competition, the logo is relatively small due to the fact it has so many more characters in it.

This often means that the resulting logo is much smaller and so tends to compete for attention with other elements on the pack.

One of the best ways to combat this is to add a holding shape to to the logotype in order to create some contrast.

This as the triple effect of increasing stand, making the logo more recognisable and much more transferable.

If you’re unlucky enough to have a brand name with a large amount of letters in the brand name, it’s better to find a more efficient way to compete for attention in the pack hierarchy.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing

Intentionally naive nostalgia, or just bad design?

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell whether something has been intentionally designed in a naive, nostalgic sort of way, or if, as in the attached example from Camp, it is just dated and lacklustre design.

I picked this up because I was incredibly confused by it. It was in the coffee fixture, but doesn’t utilise any coffee cues or explain how it is best used.

Whilst it promises to be a ‘firm family favourite’, I’ve chatted with a few families and they all shared the very same confused look! The two blokes sat outside the tent aren’t helping matters either. This sort of illustration can normally be a good visual shortcut to pedigree or tradition, however, judging by the looks on their faces, they look as confused as the people I asked earlier!

If you have an ‘unusual’ product and you want to break new ground, it’s important to showcase what value you can add to the consumers day.

Be clear and concise rather than vague and naive. If you are using nostalgia, ensure it is made relevant.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing

Remember to establish a clear pack architecture.

Establishing a robust yet flexible architecture is incredibly important for any brands looking to extend their portfolio.

Done correctly, it helps consumers navigate the range in an efficient way.

Do it incorrectly, as per the example from Capri-Sun below, and it causes no end of confusion.

Low sugar options are normally signposted with a blue or white on the pack. Here, Capri-Sun have kept the same colour ways as the full sugar version and allocated the whole top part of the pack to communicate ‘zero’, overpowering the brand logo, somewhat.

Interestingly, the banner that normally denotes flavour on the full sugar version is then allocated as the low sugar flag. This confusion can lead to people picking up the incorrect version.

Any brand that doesn’t get their communication clear, can risk creating a subconscious distrust from the consumer.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing

Lets get this straight. Plastic is not evil.

I wanted to expand on a comment I made on a post last week.

I’m a firm believer in the right piece of packaging for the right product. There seems to be an outcry against the use of plastic across-the-board at the moment. In many instances, plastic is the best solution. For instance, for fresh meats.

There is a huge amount of confusion in the industry which tends to mislead consumers with regards what packaging substrate is the ’better’ choice for that particular product.

Whist some brands openly state that they have removed plastic and replaced it with XY or Z, dig around and you will still find out that it still relies on plastic in some form.

You may have seen the glass spirit and wine bottles replaced for ‘paper bottles’. The truth is they aren’t just paper, they are lined with plastic barrier.

This hiding of substrates and showcasing ‘better’ green credentials, seems to be popping up all over the place.

Plastic is widely and easily recyclable. In some instances it IS the best solution. So rather than damning it, we should be looking to cut back on overpacking and mixing substrates together which in some instances renders them un-recyclable.

Maybe in fact we should be looking into a better recycling infrastructure altogether

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Sustainability

Wake up the fixture!

Sign posting your product through the choice of structure is a great way to showcase your point of difference and cue authenticity.

Check out this great little example from those global purveyors brown powder, Starbucks.

The product is a ready to drink milkshake which cleverly utilises their take-home coffee cup structure in order to force differentiation from the white PET bottles all to common in this sector.

The pack features a transparent lid and hole to pop a straw through, to add that additional bit of ceremony.

Overpacking? Possibly so, but a great bit of theatre!

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing

Always fulfil your promise.

So, Christmas is now just a distant memory. The tree is packed away but the carpets and sofa is still full of glitter – where does that stuff come from!?

Last night, I finished off the last of the Quality Street. This year, they’ve made a big move to take all of the individual wraps from plastic and foil into paper.

The one common comment in our household was that this move has resulted in a much less exciting experience. The anticipation created by the the ‘creek’ when unwrapping the plastic wraps has been replaced with a fairly lacklustre silence.

With the move to paper, some of that excitement and vibrancy of colour could have been maintained through a better design on the individual wraps themselves. If you are going to remove something, it makes sense to add something back in to replace what has been lost.

The outer pack for me is also an issue. Whilst the design of the bag is the same, doesn’t a plastic bag then send mixed messages to the consumer. The print quality shows a big move away from the quality, promised by the brand. The print lacks depth, vibrancy and detail incredibly important if you are trying to convey ‘Quality’.

Whilst there is a understandable role for being more sustainable, the changing materials needs to be taken into consideration, so it’s not compromise the overall perception of the product. If the wrappers lose their shimmer, make up for this in the design of the paper replacements.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Sustainability

Don’t forget the fundamentals.

Most categories have a series of expected visual aids and shortcuts that are necessary in order to convey the product goal.

In the toothpaste category, above and beyond anything else are ‘efficacy’, and ‘cleaning credentials’.

This is especially true when you are also trying to command a more natural proposition at a very premium price point.

Take this example from Hello. Many of the required cleaning credentials have been sacrificed in order to push a more natural product.

Whilst this may be a differentiating factor consumers look to the main product benefit. Will it work? Will it whiten? Will it freshen my breath?

Forget these important necessary cues at your cost, because if you do, you’ll find the consumer may forget you too.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing

Single ingredient products such as spices, are classically a challenge to brand and differentiate as they rely on one ingredient that is often, much the same as the next.

Unless there is something unique regards the provenance, blend or production, how do you pull one offering apart from another?

I’ve posted previously about how Nandos have gone about doing this, but check out this cool example of a spice rub in a printed tin.

Signature illustrations transport the consumer and cue the product experience.

If you can’t differentiate the ingredient, then own the ceremony, process of preparation or unique combinations.

#BrandDesign, #PackagingDesign, #Packaging, #Marketing