Packaging Essay Essay, Research Paper

Packaging Essay

Packaging has grown greatly in response to commercial demand. Originally intended to protect products it is today much more elaborate and developed than at any other time in history. Today we have advanced transportation and distribution methods. We rely on packaging to bring goods safely from A to B , their point of manufacture to where they are put on display and sold. Primarily a package is supposed to contain and protect a product through the transportation process and its shelf life. Packaging can also function as an advertisement or even a part of the product as well.

The roots of packaging can be traced back to the eighteenth century when the industrial revolution brought massive changes to the manufacturing industry. The introduction of mass production brought large quantities of products on to production lines. Soon, along came the invention of the tin can . Tins were used for containing perishable goods such as biscuits and confectionary or where a greater level of protection was needed. Cardboard containers provided lightweight packages that could be printed on and flat packed until required saving space.

By the turn of the century manufacturing techniques had changed so much to the degree of manufacturers being able to produce containers in any shape, size and material. Therefore the birth of novelty packaging took place something that is so widespread today. Printing techniques flourished in the early nineteenth century and was forced to expand their range of techniques to keep up with advances in packaging.

Manufacturers were keen to have their brand image displayed on the container whether it is glass, cardboard or metal. This would give special interest to otherwise bland designs. Having graphics on a product also meant it could display a far greater degree of product information. This in turn reduced the need for informed shop staff to direct customers.

The introduction of colour allowed artists to provide an image for a product, which would often become its identity. Today this plays a vital role in the consumers’ purchasing decisions. Competition at the point of sate has never been more aggressive. It is packaging that plays the vital role of communicating the right message to the consumer.

One packaging design of the past that I am going to consider is that of Savoly designed by a well known Art Nouveau designer called Alphonse Mucha. Alphonse Mucha a well known Czech poster designer and painter, one of the leading artists of the Art Nouveau period. He created poster designs characterized by sinuous “whiplash” lines, flowers on thin, twining stems, women with long, flowing hair, and elegantly attenuated lettering. His biggest achievement was, under the direction of Charles Richard Crane, a Chicago industrialist, he painted The Epic of the Slavic People (1912-1930), a series of 20 large paintings that he later presented to the city of Prague.

The bright colours in the side border of this packaging are what immediately attracted me. These stand out, as they are very vibrant and appealing. The thing that grabs my attention the most is the very flat 2D image of a woman with long flowing hair that has also been depicted in a bright colour. This is a very common sight in Art Nouveau.

The designer has used a number of images within this design. That of the female s head and also images of flowers that have been constructed with the use of longs flowing, curving lines. Another image used is that of a kind of grass this has been used as a repeated pattern witch is featured in the border area of the design. I think that these images have been used to construct a feminine feel to the product and perhaps the use of the female s head to show that this is a beauty product.

The colours used in this design are very varied. Some of the colours that have been used are yellows, oranges, greens and reds that are very bright colours that stand out and are very visible. I think the designer has done this to attract the attention of potential customers and to draw you to the writing, the products name so it sticks in your head. Some techniques that have been used are long flowing lines and ornate images. I think these kinds of techniques have been used, as that was the style of the time.

The lettering in this packaging design varies greatly from line to line. Some of the lettering is very intricate whereas some of the lettering is very simplistic I think this could be because of the importance of text. The text varies in another area that of size. The size of text varies greatly again I think this is again to do with importance. Most of the writing is legible apart from the ornate lettering which is, I think, the companies name.

I think that this packaging design is aimed at females who are perhaps of a young age or that are still conscious of there magnetism. As this is evidently a very feminine design and it also contains a female that could suggest that this is a beauty product.

This design has been well arranged with the lettering in the centre of the packaging, with the company and the product names at the top and some general information at the bottom. It has borders on either side of the lettering attracting and directing your eyes to the lettering. The image of the female is situated on the left-hand side border, with her eyes looking toward the middle also directing you to the middle of the packaging.

Art Nouveau literally meaning new art , a complex European artistic design style of the last two decades of the 1800s and the first decade of the 1900s. It can be found in a wide range of art forms architecture, interior design, furniture, posters, glass, pottery, textiles, and book illustration and it is recognisable by its devotion to curving lines, often referred to as whiplash lines. The term Art Nouveau comes from La Maison de l’Art Nouveau, a shop opened by the dealer Siegfried Bing in Paris in 1896.

In the face of increasing mass-production, and the shoddiness of design and workmanship that inevitably ensued, the Arts and Crafts Movement sought to revive good design and honest handcraftsmanship. Taking up and elaborating the ideas of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau also sought to create a completely new style.

Art Nouveau is characterized by long curving lines based on plant forms, and an element of fantasy. It was primarily a decorative style and as such was used particularly effectively in metalwork, jewellery, and glassware, and in book illustration.

By 1910 Art Nouveau was in decline and did not outlive World War I, being succeeded by the sleekly elegant Art Deco style. It had never been a widespread style, since the best works were costly and unsuited to mass manufacture, but the style was rediscovered in the middle of the 20th century, with exhibitions held in Zurich in 1952, London in 1952-1953, and New York in 1960. Art Nouveau was a pivotal development in the history of art, particularly in architecture. By rejecting conventional style and redefining the relationship of art to industry, its practitioners helped prepare the way for the advent of modern art and architecture.

One example of a modern packaging design is that of the Palmolive Original Soap . Created by the Colgate company, as a packaging design it has only been around for a few short years although, it still holds the well known name of Palmolive Soap.

The thing that immediately attracted my attention to this particular packaging design is the main centre image, that of a leaf with a yellow drip petruding from it. I think this stands out as much because of the drips intense colour. One thing in this packaging design that grabs my attention is the colour scheme; it is very simplistic, consisting of a very few colours, green, yellow and white. I think the main method that the designer has used to attract potential customers is the intense yellow drip.

The only images that have been used are that of the leaf and the drip. The reason for using these particular images is of course to brighten up the packaging. Also to covey a message.

The lettering of this packaging is in all different sizes. I think the size of the lettering represents the importance of the lettering, for example, the lettering is saying the product name is very large and the lettering, which describes the ingredients, is very small. All of the lettering is legible, stands out well and also very clear. The lettering is been presented in a bold green colour again this helps it to stand out,

The designer has produced this packaging in a glossy card material. This could have been done because this material is recyclable and perhaps the designer wants his/her packaging to be environmentally friendly. This may have been done to give the image that it has been specially developed for environmentally friendly people as the product is perhaps aimed to this kind of person. This would make the images contained in the packaging very suiting as they are of natural subjects and making good use of nature is consider to be a good act of environment awareness.

In conclusion I have found packaging to be a most useful invention. It helps us the customer to choose which products to purchase and to keep those products safe and in good condition. As well as helping manufacturers to advertise there products and transport them to sales outlets. Without the progression in packaging, indeed without packaging at the entire world as we know it would not be the same.