External values also count
Packaging I Good packaging is half the battle. Whether through advertising or at the point of sale, packaging influences purchasing decisions.
Packaging I Well packaged is half the sale. Packaging influences purchasing decisions via advertising or at the POS, and packaging design exploits all the possibilities of design and production to present brands at their best. This special discipline of visual design works in part according to its own laws, which are shaped by the possibilities of technology. Let's start with a folding box that has to prove its worth as outer packaging for a new brand perfume. Its career will one day end in waste paper, because its service is fulfilled when it is purchased. The decisive role is played in the phase before that: that of a seductive eye-catcher that attracts, arouses interest, convinces and ultimately favors the purchase decision. This is made possible by the sophisticated interplay of form, material, design and printing technology. From the basic conceptual idea to the production of packaging, packaging design is governed by rules that are different from those in other visual design disciplines. A classic advertising agency assumes that four-colour printing is the standard for the realization of classic media, for example. Depending on the area of application, bright colors - a corporate color or delicate print or special colors such as orange, silver or gold - supplement the spectrum. The Pantone palette is more prominent in the minds of packaging designers. Colors and special colors as well as the psychological effect of colors and color combinations are part of everyday design and an enormously important tool in packaging design. Combined with various printing and embossing processes, this results in an infinite variety of possibilities for creating targeted visual stimuli (haptics, cardboard, finishing, etc.).
In addition to offset printing, packaging design uses other printing processes such as gravure, screen or flexographic printing. It is worth following the technical developments and trends in printing in detail and incorporating them into the conceptual process. They allow an increasingly complex data structure as the number of printing units per machine increases and inline coating and finishing can also be applied in a single print run. It is astonishing that a four-color file can also be printed in eight colors in packaging design (reasons: transparent films, printing process, register accuracy, etc.). Color separation in the pre-press stage and data preparation are therefore among the most sensitive production steps. This is where the expertise of graphic designers and polygraphers is required, as well as cooperation with the print shop.
Maintaining the interface between graphics and print is becoming increasingly important. Keyword time factor: product life cycles are shortening and one product relaunch almost heralds the next. This leads to ever shorter lead times for creation and production, which can ultimately only be compensated for by the expertise of all those involved and an orchestrated workflow. The fact that data transfer is constantly improving and many interim presentations between customers and designers are also carried out electronically minimizes idle times in projects.
Three-dimensional display options, Illustrator, Photoshop and specialized 3D programs ensure lean work processes and new options that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. However, "de l'art pour l'art" is even less of an option in their application. The main task remains the targeted, focused implementation of customer briefings. A feel for what a client and their brands need cannot be developed via the electronic channel alone. This still requires all the more direct, intensive engagement in order for the folding box around the perfume to have an impact.
Röné Bringold
In addition to offset printing, packaging design uses other printing processes such as gravure, screen or flexographic printing. It is worth following the technical developments and trends in printing in detail and incorporating them into the conceptual process. They allow an increasingly complex data structure as the number of printing units per machine increases and inline coating and finishing can also be applied in a single print run. It is astonishing that a four-color file can also be printed in eight colors in packaging design (reasons: transparent films, printing process, register accuracy, etc.). Color separation in the pre-press stage and data preparation are therefore among the most sensitive production steps. This is where the expertise of graphic designers and polygraphers is required, as well as cooperation with the print shop.
Maintaining the interface between graphics and print is becoming increasingly important. Keyword time factor: product life cycles are shortening and one product relaunch almost heralds the next. This leads to ever shorter lead times for creation and production, which can ultimately only be compensated for by the expertise of all those involved and an orchestrated workflow. The fact that data transfer is constantly improving and many interim presentations between customers and designers are also carried out electronically minimizes idle times in projects.
Three-dimensional display options, Illustrator, Photoshop and specialized 3D programs ensure lean work processes and new options that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. However, "de l'art pour l'art" is even less of an option in their application. The main task remains the targeted, focused implementation of customer briefings. A feel for what a client and their brands need cannot be developed via the electronic channel alone. This still requires all the more direct, intensive engagement in order for the folding box around the perfume to have an impact.
Röné Bringold
