A box will be a box unless a story reels around it. While starting to work on a project, seeking inspiration doesn't necessarily mean we start from scratch, especially in packaging where there are a plethora of solutions already out in the market. Packaging is a versatile subject yet has limitations with respect to the manufacturing process, assembly line, CAPEX involvement and timelines. We don't need to get disheartned that everything is out there since we can use this to our advantage while adapting to some off-the-shelf solution and creating a beautiful story with our insights, inspiration and thoughts.
“PACKAGING CAN BE THEATRE, IT CAN CREATE STORY” - Steve jobs
We have to understand that packaging is a very fast-paced service industry hence there needs to scope for both off the shelf solutions(which is an existing solution from which we can adapt and scale) and another where we can bring groundbreaking innovation.
It depends upon the brief of the product in order to decide which route will be best suited for the project and the brand.
FUNNELING
Funneling is how I process my data to arrive at an insightful mindmap. It's a very structured process where I use different tools to get data and insights.
Funneling is essentially taking a large chunk of data and processing it into small pockets of data and then again creating another consolidated large cloud and breaking it down further and so on.
Funneling is not in-depth research but a high-level study to map out and assess the challenges and scope of the packaging.
I have created a few tools over the years I have worked as a packaging designer which help in making the funneling process more insightful.
Each part of the funneling adds to the process of finding the right inspiration and helps to envision some early concepts.
Whilst we are exploring different tools we can have a brief in mind to help us understand the tools better and how it can be applied in any project.
BRIEF
To design packaging for 50ml herbal oil. Target audience who are passionate about hair care. The packaging should:
Dispense 5ml at a time
Eco friendly
It should portray the goodness of organic herbs used in the oil.
It should be appealing and look premium.
Should be sturdy in transit and should easily adapt to the e-commerce channel.
THE 4 D's
To understand the scope of work and its complexity. A dipstick study about the product and the challenges associated with the product. This will help us to give a rough calculation about the opportunities, scope and challenges of the product.
Using the tool given below, you will be able to judge whats the scope of work
This also gives a better understanding to the entire team involved about the commercial aspect and they can accordingly map the timelines for the project.
If we apply the above brief to the above tool we can come up with two scopes:
Primary packaging: A bottle that can hold 50ml oil and has a dispenser. This can be an off the shelf packaging which is tried and tested in the market.
Secondary packaging: To elevate the experience of the brand and protect the bottle during transit. The same packaging can also be used for e-commerce channels.
So, I have mapped two green areas since there are two scopes with different challenges.
The challenges can be further mapped with regards to the experience of the team members, vendor capabilities and timelines.
Further, we can dissect the product and understand the requirements of both primary and secondary packaging.
To dissect the product part by part in order to come up with relevant design criteria to work on.
The dissect tool helps us to understand the tangible and intangible attributes of the product. The requirements can be broadly classified into functional, emotional, cultural and technical data.
Focus on a particular quadrant can be shifted according to the demand of the project.
The 4 quadrants of the dissect tool can be populated by the relevant data.
Functional: Off the Shelf glass bottle with a dropper to dispense 5ml at a time. Secondary packaging should keep the glass bottle protected and straight to avoid leakages
Emotional: To bring out the goodness of organic herb and environment-friendly packaging.
Technical: To meet the specs requirement of filling line
Cultural: to allow consumers to apply the oil from their hands as they consider this as the best acupressure therapy
To determine brand positioning with respect to familiarity vs distinctiveness. This is a very important tool to understand where a brand wants to market itself. A misalignment of thoughts at this junction can result in different solutions than what a marketing team is expecting.
Strategic placement on the map can help designers to understand the scope of ideation.
For the above brief, we will strategically keep it in the center where it can relate to the product category but can highlight the natural and organic part which is the most distinctive factor.
To diverge in the multiple tangents for inspiration. Inspiration by persona, culture, some music, etc will bring out a strong story and surprise element in the packaging.
I generally avoid market research during my inspiration process. It's a common practice to quickly start surfing the web for parallel product packaging as soon as we get a brief. This not only limits our sources of inspiration but also makes us forcefully fit a reason behind why we have developed a similar packaging.
I believe, creating a story in the packaging should be from one's own inspiration resources and not from another packaging.
For herbal hair oil, I can get inspired by nature, movies and ads.
Nature because the product has organic and natural ingredients which makes it most distinctive from other oils.
Movies and ads to make the packaging look larger than life. And how finally the message of organic/ herbal oil can be conveyed to the consumers.
After funneling, we can kick start with ideation and detailing. Determine & Diverge are the most important tool for inspiration as they can give you a better vision and can also help you innovate with constraints.
There are multiple tangents to get inspired from that can help you bring a strong story through the packaging. This opportunity is missed if we try and fit our product into some other packaging. The most simpleton packaging has the right presence of minds and the right connotations behind it.
Coming up with these tools and using them in my projects has helped me create a versatile approach and finding the right balance in my inspiration process.
Hope the tools can inspire you and help you with your projects.
-Amita
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