Packaging Design: Seed of California

I’m just writing a blog to showcase my final packaging project of fourth semester in Graphic Design at Humber College. The goal of the project is to design labels/stickers to put on general packaging with bulk candy to raise its perceived market value. We are also asked to create a Family look and feel experience for consumers that would obtain brand loyalty. For this project I chose to make up a company called “Seed of California” which, of course, is a seed company from California.

Logo

The logo is what I started with and it is still my favourite part of the design. When thinking about California I imagine the hot sun, which is the reason behind the colour orange. It is also in the shape of a sunflower seed which has two purposes. It reinforces the sun idea as well as illustrating what the company does. SEED is written in a typeface that was slightly modified to show the appearance of being engraved or rooted like a seed or a plant may be.

Label/Sticker

As I was saying, the logo is like the Californian Sun, therefore, the label is the deep blue sky. I was going for the simple, well-designed look and feel so I’ve only used two colours  (orange and blue) and white knockout. The label tells a story: The name of the seed is written very large and very noticeable in white as the sun (the logo) shines upon it from the sky at the top left corner.

The shape of the label somewhat resembles the spikes of a crown. I was trying to raise the perceived value the spikes give a sort of cutting edge look and feel, making people feel like they should buy these seeds because they seem more exciting. 

I should note that I’m using this as a portfolio piece so I’ve decided to make it all American and leave out the French so as to appear less cluttered and allow for more creative freedom. It is Californian Seeds, after all.

Family Look

I’ve gathered a total of six different bulk seeds with their own package to go with them. Each of the packages that were chosen are very dynamic and different which is the reason I customized the label to work for each of the different packaging types. Same colours, same logo principles, same type treatment. Even though it is different it is always consistent and will always be easily recognizable and editable to work on any future packaging.

Information (Nutrition, Ingredients and Barcode)

This is the area that changes the most. The size of the Nutrition Facts is preset by the government and they are required to be used in at least one of their many various accepted format options. I have switched between horizontal and vertical depending on the design of the packaging. The ingredients are straightforward near the barcode (that never changes other than a rotate) and near the Trademark and Copyright information.

I put effort into incorporating the required information as part of the design. All type remains white (no black) as to be consistent in the design no matter which panel the consumer may be viewing the containers at.

Hulled Seasoned Sunflower Seeds

This is pretty much the main product Seed of California has to offer. Sunflower seeds were in fact the reference for the shape of the logo. I decided to put Hulled Sunflower seeds in a soda bottle because it makes a connection.  Some Americans like to soak their seeds in their soda which is the reason Americans could in fact relate to having seeds in this bottle shape. To add to the story boost I wrote “Drink seeds of the sun like an American”  on the side of the bottle which may encourage people to be patriotic.

Additional Sticker: I added the logo on the cap so that the bottles can be placed in groups on the floor and still be recognizable as SEEDs.

Sunflower Seeds In-Shell

For the In-Shell seeds I put them inside a bag with a die cut in the front, I over lap the die cut with the logo. The bag has two stickers. The one with the PDP leads from the front towards the back by its side to show a connection to the nutritional panel at the back.

Hulled Hemp Seeds

This was the smallest product so it is also the smallest package. Hemp seeds are not usually bought in large amounts. It was difficult to fit everything on the one sticker.

Additional Sticker: I added the logo and barcode on the bottom to save on room.


Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds

This was my widest plane allowing me to space everything out a bit more and still be viewed on the PDP.

Additional Sticker: Huge logo on the top of the lid.

Roasted Hickory Smoked Almonds

Almonds were put into a box for multiple reasons. Although, mostly it was to avoid having possible consumers see potentially mangled up almonds. They have been hulled and have passed through many machines, so it is impossible to have only perfect pieces.

Additional Sticker: Huge logo on the top of the lid.

Salted In-Shell Pumpkin Seeds

This was the biggest item. I used two labels: one for the PDP and one for the back showing the rest of the information. It is straight forward. The logo also overlaps the die cut to increase packaging interest.

© David Brown - ReasonInDesign.com, 2012

Blog6: My Process

I’ve watched a few TED talks where Stefan Sagmeister talks about his design process. He talks about how he gathers his ideas and what he does before and during projects. Stefan has done many very impressive works and I have enjoyed learning about how he goes about solving his problems as a designer.

I’ve listed and described my long design process in chronological order so I can try to compare my process with the one Stefan presented. It seems for the most part the only thing we really had in common is needed breaks. Stefan takes a few years off his retirement to use one year every five years of his career. I don’t think I’d be able to take a break that lasts that long without getting bored, nor do I have the money to be able to do that.

This is my design process in eleven steps:

• Read the brief Knowledge is power. I go through the entire brief at least once no matter how many pages it is. I don’t want to find out later that I did something I was not supposed to do when it was clearly written on page 40
• Give it time I have many projects to work on at once. I do the next steps for assignments in order of the due date for projects. Within the time after reading the brief and starting on thumbnails I simply reflect. I’m a pretty quiet person because I’m always in the clouds. I’m thinking about everything and nothing all at once every moment of my life. While working on one project I often get an idea for another project. While walking down the street or taking a shower I make mental notes and lists of things I need to do while thinking creatively.
• Thumbnails In the beginning this is my least favourite stage. My ideas don’t usually come from me just sitting down looking at a pad with a marker. They come from the “Give it time” stages. On this stage, I mostly just sketch ideas I’ve been getting all day. This stage can appear at random moments, which is the reason I always carry a marker
• Research This stage is part of the “Thumbnail” stage. When I’m sitting there with my marker in my ear I’m thinking about the business or the client I’m working for. I need to do research so that my ideas I come up with are based on facts. Research tends to improve the general quality of the work. For example, a logo without research is just a nice image, but with research the logo represents the company.
• Give it some more time After a few hours of Thumbnails I don’t just point and choose. Sometimes I don’t even have ideas worth working on yet. I can’t just sit there and do nothing until my brain explodes. I either go for a long walk in a direction I don’t usually take, get some food, watch a movie or work on a different project.
• Going with an idea After a while, I get the idea that solves the brief. I try to polish the idea and see if I can bring it into a more interesting direction and I start thinking of how the final project will look like.
• Break time The last six steps take one to two sets of weekdays. I work very hard during my weekday and I rarely take a break. Giving it time is not necessarily always a break. Often enough both those stages are taking place while I’m getting ready for school or taking a walk towards a place I need to go to. The Break time stage is my weekend. I like to take two full days off to rest, fool around, be with people I care about and do nothing. Although this is my break, I am always reflecting on projects and I often draw thumbnails for later.
• First final completion of project I get cracking on the assignment and make it as perfect as possible. I work on it as a final piece I will be handing my client.
• Judgment day This is where everyone I know gets annoyed by me. I show my near perfect project to at least one person I trust will give me an honest opinion and criticism like a teacher, friend, family member or even the client. This is an important stage for me so I always finish projects at least one day before it is due to show people and have time for the next stage.
• Final completion of the project I revise and reflect on all the feedback I received on “Judgment day.” I make the project as perfect as possible no matter how long it takes me. On this stage I don’t stop until it is done even if I stay up all night to do it. I’m a perfectionist; after this stage it is very rare to find a typo or a mistake.
• Submission Time to print, email, file share, disk, usb or get mounted. I do as the brief asks. I do it with attention to detail; I don’t want my hard work to end up in the wrong place.

Blog5: Reflections on Heidi’s RGD Visit

How do you distinguish between an amateur pretending to know about graphic design and someone who actually studied the field and actually knows what he is doing? If it wasn’t for the law I’m sure people would call them selves doctors and profit with dangerous operations. The Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) membership allows clients to find the real designers. It takes three to four years of graphic design education then 4 years of real world design experience to become a fully realized RGD member. This is good news for everyone (unless you’re self-taught). Being part of the RGD makes it easier to get work, add it on to your resume, and let people know that you are respected. With the RGD you also get more experience and the possibility of being paired with a mentor.

The only thing some people may find an issue with the RGD is that they are against “spec work”. That is when you do thumbnails or roughs without pay. Clients will often approach many designers and see what they can do then only pay for the best idea but with the RGD it is forbidden to take part in this.  This is a lot of work, we shouldn’t do it for free. I definitely agree with these terms, to prove it, I actually registered myself with RGD.  Refusing spec work may reduce the amount of work you do but it ensures that all the work you do is not for nothing.

Without spec work it becomes more difficult to improve on a portfolio, thankfully the RGD encourages Pro bono work. Pro bono is when someone does work from their field of specialty as a volunteer for a company or a cause they personally believe in. The work is not for free; you’re being paid knowing that you are a part of the team that is making something you love happen. Then, you can advertise yourself as that kind of person with the work in your portfolio.