PT.2.4 Display Research

Now that I have completed my research I have a solid foundation for my project. I believe that my product is suitable for the market, a shoebox is self explanatory and that is why I want to take mine further whilst focusing on what is inside the shoebox. My project is based around health and fitness and that is why the unique shoebox is designed to hold trainers, I am hoping to work around inspiring my audience through the motivation of health and fitness, doing this through package design and branding may be slightly tricky but knowing I have that goal will help me to keep focused when I'm designing. Whilst taking part in my research project I have realised the importance of branding because that is what familiarises the consumers with the product. Branding is also a way of showing off the meaning behind the product, when I am planning out how to brand my shoebox I will need to consider how I can clearly show the health and fitness theme of the design.

Production Target 2 - PT 2.1 - Final Idea

After having an indecisive few weeks I have finally chosen the project I will be focusing on for my final major project. Product design is something that I haven't previously done however I would love to focus on this whilst at college and learn more about it therefore I am going to be designing, branding and creating a shoe box for sports trainers. As well as the shoebox I will be using a personally branded drawstring bag which can hold the shoebox in as well as being reuasble for the customer, this will be great for the cusomer to use the bag as a useful fitness accessory as well as promoting the brand of trainers. The reason I have chosen to make the package for sports trainers is because I had to consider what I am passionate about and how I can relate that to my project. Going to the gym and running are things that I love to do in my spare time, keeping fit is very important to me. In order to make my package design different to other competitors, I will turn the product into a fitness and health motivational product as well as being a package for trainers. The branding of my product is just as important as the initial design of the box therefore I will need to consider how create a logo that fits with the theme of the product, font and colourings. Marketing is another key aspect of the project, I would like to create an online banner advert that would go on social media sites to engage all types of audience with my product and allow them to get a feel the brand of trainers.

When I came up with the idea of using a bag as well as the package that holds the product I remembered that when I previously bought an item from Apple I was given this type of drawstring bag. This is an effective way increasing customer satisfaction by making the the product easier to carry. This is excatly why I will be designing a drawstring bag to carry my brand of trainers, the bag is especially relevent to my idea because the customer can use the bag when they go out for a run or to the gym, it will also promote the brand.

Research is a crucial part of my project because the original knowledge I had for package design was very little therefore I have been looking at several books that have given me a brilliant idea of how to start out with my project. Although the research has been helpful, there is a lot that I need to think about when it comes to being practical with designing and creating the product itself such as, which software I will be using and how it will be printed. Now that I have my theory based idea it is time for me to start working on it.

Production Target 2 - Reviews

I went up into the College to explore possible books that I could look at for research. Luckily I found a perfect book straight away. 'Packaging Prototypes' by Edward Denison and Richard Cawthray. Dension starts by giving an explanation of the history and principles of packaging and classic examples of famous packages. Denison and Cawthray (1999, p. 7) suggest that  “consumers ‘see’ a shape, a combination of colours, or recognise a particular font style. Finding a familiar product in a familiar pack can be as similar and satisfying an experience as catching sight of an old friend.” This demonstrates the importance of branding a design because it allows the consumers to familiarise themselves with the product. The authors have prepared a list that explains how different packages are suitable for certain products. Further on, each page gives an example of packages, the book gives an explanation of how each package is made as well as what they can be used for. Each product design has a diagram of an open net which is helpful because it allows the reader to understand how to create the product even for beginners. Whilst looking through the book I found a couple packages that have given me inspiration for something that would be suitable for a trainer shoe box.

Here is an example of the typical page in the book, as you can see the page mainly consists of images with a short amount of text written sideways. Packaging Prototypes is a perfect book for beginners who are seeking more information about product design which is perfect for me because it is not something I have previously learnt about.

‘The Fundamentals of Product Design' is a book written by Richard Morris. Morris includes a variety of different case studies as well as giving a detailed overview of the process of product design from start to finish. He also uses over 200 images and easy to read flow charts so it is quite similar to the book I looked at before because it has more images than text which I think is suitable for the topic of the book. Looking through the book I realised that Morris is demonstrating a variety of unusual and unique designs that you wouldn't necessarily everyday. This is perfect inspiration for me because I would like to create something different that isn't currently on the market. Morris (2009, p.19) includes advice for the audience “Less experienced designers can sometimes consider materials far too late in the design process.” Morris highlights the mistakes that newcomers may make which helps me a lot because reading his book is giving me a head start with my project.

Candace Ellicott and Sarah Roncarelli wrote a visual and helpful book for beginners and students like myself. 'Packaging Essentials: 100 Design Principles For Creating Packages' allows us beginners to see the visual examples demonstrate the principles at work in applied design. As the title insinuates, the book outlines basic package design guidelines and rules through 100 principles in the area of research, planning, and execution. Whilst looking through the book I saw a range of package designs that I recognised, for example, my favourite chocolate, tea, alcohol, etc. It was interesting to see the work that goes into creating them and how each package is unique.

The book contained some extremely helpful information that really made me consider a range of factors that I will have to think about when it comes to preparing my project, for example:

To be relevant, the package design must suggest the product it contains or the audience it is meant for. (Ellicott and Roncarelli 2010, p. 20).

Gary R. Holmes, Audhesh Paswan, (2012) "Consumer reaction to new package design", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 21 Iss: 2, pp.109 - 116.

Online I found an interesting journal called ‘Journal of Product & Brand Management’ written by Gary R. Holmes and Audhesh Paswan. The journal is slightly different to others because it is completely focused around what the audience think and what they expect from a designed product. Personally I believe this is a great way to attract consumers because it is easily relatable for them. The studies revealed that the consumers mainly appreciate the ‘ease of use’ and ‘ease of handling’ when it comes to investing in a new product. This was quite surprising for me because I expected that the audience interested in a certain design would be attracted to exciting and unique designs. Overall I was really impressed with this journal because it is a perfect way for those who are new to product and brand design to understand how to make their product successful and fit the needs to the consumers.

Finally, I found on online article that outlines the importance of the design of a product. Johnson uses examples of effective and less effective product and package designs that are already on the market which gave me a good idea of what works and what doesn’t. Similarly to the other books and journals I have looked at, this gives a great overview of how important it is to consider your long term goals for the product and how you can make your product relate to that, as well as this, the article really encourages the readers to get to know the target audience; this made me realise how important research is, conducting both primary and secondary research before beginning a project allows you to back up your points with evidence as well as understanding the needs of the audience. “Package designers in the real world have to deal with complications: the consumer needs to know what the product is, how to make it work and why they should buy it.” (Johnson 2011)

Bibliography:

Denison, E and Cawthray, R (1999). “Packaging Prototypes”, RotoVision.

Johnson, J. (2011). Effective Package Design Does More Than Look Good on the Shelf. [Blog] Design Shack. Available at: http://designshack.net/articles/graphics/effective-package-design-does-more-than-look-good-on-the-shelf/ [Accessed 04/02/2016]

Morris, R. (2009). The Fundamentals Of Product Design. [eBook] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gEPh_bVLthEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 09/02/2016]

Gary R. Holmes, Audhesh Paswan, (2012) "Consumer reaction to new package design", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 21 Iss: 2, pp.109 - 116.

Ellicott, C and Roncarelli, S (2010). “Packaging Essentials: 100 Design Principles For Creating Packages”, Rockport Publishers, p.20.