Package Design
Package Design, Fall 2020
During Fall 2020, I had the privilege of teaching Package Design and bringing the course back into regular rotation at WKU (it had been dormant for a few semesters). Throughout the semester, students participated in lectures and discussions relating to the history of packaging, printing and finishing techniques, and consumer-based design strategies such as the psychology of color and graphics as well as how design affects purchasing decisions. The design projects in this course focused on researching and understanding different areas of the packaging market as well as identifying target audiences while learning to translate a digital design to a 3-D Prototype (assembled by hand or digitally rendered) with a strong focus on production, craft, and technical skill.
Children’s Toothpaste Packaging
For this assignment, students were tasked with creating packaging for children’s toothpaste that would be marketed by a company specializing in baby and children’s bath and health care products. The design was to be appealing to both children and parents. Students created the brand identity as well as packaging design while being conscious of communicating the functional attributes and health benefits of the product. Students physically built the box and then 3-D rendered the tube design using Adobe Dimension.
Pet Food Packaging
For this assignment, students focused on bag design and assembly and were assigned to create pet food packaging (for dog or cat) that would be sold in big box retailers and pet food stores. The goal of the design was to ensure both brand and product recognition from all panels of the bag to allow the consumer to easily find the product in the store. They defined the brand and product name as well as packaging design. Students researched the following: how food is merchandised/displayed in store, pet food ingredients/special animal diets/life stages, and legal/nutrition information. Due to printing limitations, students printed the front and back of the bag separately and assembled the bag by piecing it together.
Subscription Box Packaging & Collateral
For their final assignment, students created a new brand and subscription box model based on their market research. They defined the branding, persona, and subscription model of the box as well as components, category, and target market while paying strong attention to carrying out the concept and visuals throughout all components. The box was to be targeted to someone who was a first time user/subscriber. Students were responsible for creating for finding their box as well as the box components; the box was required to have a minimum of 3 items (with hand built packaging/labels) and a welcome/informational sheet inside the package. Students were given the option and encouraged to utilize Makerspace equipment (laser cutter, 3-D printer, vinyl cutter, CNC Router) as well as in-class production equipment (Cricut, etc.).
The following projects received recognition at the 2021 UCDA Design Awards/Competition:
Kyra Rookard (Shrub) , Award of Excellence; Molly Lee (New Wave Coffee), Honorable Mention; Sidney Jarboe (Ceres), Honorable Mention
