Exercise: Packaging

For this exercise I was to produce a series of illustrations for packaging to be used for a new range of organic biscuits for children for three biscuit types: raisin, choc-chip and ginger and using extinct animals interacting in a fun way with the biscuit to be used on the boxes.

I first went to various supermarkets to do some research, taking photos of the most interesting biscuit packaging for kids and also for adults that I liked (I did get a few funny looks!) I also decided to check other types of packaging like cereal or crisps to also see how they were done for kids.

There were a lot of styles out there and the brief also suggested I think about how my own design could stand out. From the research I did, I felt like I could group the illustrations into styles:

Shiny bright and playful plastic look with fully invented characters, usually animals
Classier adult look with fancy writing and photos of the biscuits and more elegant boxes
Bio / healthy look using more paper/card board using playfulness by giving photos of the biscuits features or using characters
Own branding style using the biscuit and enhancing it but not with characters

Shiny bright and playful plastic look with (mainly) animal characters

Classier adult look with fancy writing and photos of the biscuits and more elegant boxes

Bio / healthy look using more paper/card board using playfulness by giving photos of the biscuits features or characters

Own branding style using the biscuit and enhancing it but not with characters

I also decided to do some digging on the Internet too to also see if I could find more examples and made a collection of the most interesting ones in my Pinterest here.

I then went on to create a moodboard of my favourite colour schemes, extinct animals and packing of biscuits I found inspiring, interesting or aligned with the ‘organic’ healthy look. I am very much into the organic and bio side of food and I recognise that I probably completely buy into the more brown paper bag look compared to shiny plastic. I also note that despite the rise in such products and ‘looks’ they are actually few and far between when you step back and look at the shelves so I also do think that this more natural look actually captures the eye more specifically.

From there I started to brainstorm ideas in my sketchbook. Since my tutor suggested I keep trialling creating characters, I decided to make three little characters out of the three extinct animals I chose to use: a dodo, a brachiosaurus and a wooly mammoth. So I started creating these, playing around with positions, styles, making them more childish and trying to get them to ‘interact’ with the biscuit in a fun way as per the brief.

I even went back to the sketches and tried out some different media on the dinosaur to see what effect would be nicest with the full design version (above). As final characters, I ended up with the below:

I then went back to my sketchbook and moodboard and brainstormed thumbnail ideas for set up and box types. I decided on a cardboard simple box for ease of packaging, fitting into cupboards (parents tend to have and hate a lot of clutter) and for a more ‘organic’ and less plastic look that would go better for the type of branding as per my analysis above.

I then created three slightly different visuals, using a green colour to help convey the healthy organic aspect but sticking to the flavour of the biscuit for the rest.

For a final mock up, I took high resolution photos of the illustrations and used them in Photoshop to create the below different digital visuals. I tried out different colours and set ups using the woolly mammoth illustration. I decided to use digital fonts but that still had a childish look or serif to them for a more elegant design that would hopeful appeal to both adult and child.

I then got to the final design as per the below:

I then decided to try a new software in Adobe Creative Cloud ‘Dimension’ to create a digital 3D mock up. With a quick tutorial and a couple of trials, I managed to get a 3D biscuit box mock up complete with shadows! I made up the side text with Lorem Ipsum, found an organic icon I could use and created a bar code for effect.

Based on feedback from the tutor who told me that for my practice it would be good to do more mock ups and in this case, do the full set, so it gives the full overview of the three together as a series.

So I went back to the other two and created mock ups aligned to the final composition chosen but in the matching colour scheme for each biscuit type and came up with the below:

I then went back to the 3D set up to pull in all three for the full effect, which really works when you can see the three together in this way!

Final reflections:

I really see the value in final mock ups with digital support or just professionally presented. This one in particular, given it was for packaging, I really tried to give the 3D vision and I think it works really well for clients to really understand the look it will have. When doing this, it also makes you think more holistically about the design as previously, I hadn’t considered the top and sides. So by doing this I was forced to and thus proposed a continuation of the faded biscuits going over the top and then a clean cut clock colour for the necessary text that would make it easier to read but still match in colour and tone.

When it comes to the character drawings too, I really had fun with this and enjoyed creating them, experimenting and trying to come up with something eye-catching, fun but still elegant enough for classy up-market bio biscuits! With characters in particular I find I really need to force the creative process and sketching into more fluidity and instinctive rather than how I was always taught drawing in school: to copy and try to be as accurate as possible. So while I find characters difficult, they are also literally forcing my hand when it comes to my drawing, which is great!