CI563 Packaging Design - Development Continued ...

I drafted out a packaging net on card to see what the functionality of my design would be like. I found that by stripping down the sides I could install a slit on the left side to which the right tab could slide into and keep both the packaging and product in place. I wanted the spine of the box to be shorter than the face so its more like a casing rather than a box.

I have also decided to put the website and the sizing information on the spine of the box possibly as a die cut I am not sure yet. 

I was really pleased with the 

prototype and decided after much deliberation that this would be my final idea to execute and send to the laser cutting machine. But first I had to transfer and plan out my design within illustrator. 

Firstly, I needed to make sure I got the measurements right before I started to input them into illustrator. 

I decided to have my box 14cm by 14cm with a 3cm spine allowing the box to be mailed through a letter box. 

I used sharp corners for the scamp out as it helped me gauge the exact size of all the elements and made the process much quicker as I knew I could just use the rounded rectangle in illustrator to refine. 

Once I was happy with my measurements I began to input these measurements into illustrator using rulers & the transform tool to correctly position the shapes. This was a skill I had just learnt from a tutorial with my tutor. I was able to drag out the rulers to the corner of my rectangle and exactly measure where my shape was on X and Y axis. I was then able to snap the next object to my shape by selecting a position on the transform box to snap to. The transform tool also allowed me to click on any shape and input every measurement I had done on paper which was really effective , especially in industry where time would be valuable. 

As I started to create my vector 

objects I had to take into consideration the amount of detail the die cut would allow , so I tried to make them as simplified as I can. I started to thinkabout the rationality of the detail and wether it would make a big difference if it was just the shape of the product cut out or inner details e.g lines on boxers or ankles and toes on the socks. However to get this detail I would need to have inserted lines to hold the inner piece together making a sort of kids stencil look . Im going to experiment further with the strip with a bit of trial and error I should get somewhere.

I tried out a couple of light colours with the vectors on top , this gave me an idea of what my illustrations would look like with colour behind them and give me an idea of what type of stock and palette to use.

I wanted to experiment a little with the strip that was going to around the packaging. The lines in red will guide the laser cutter to what needs to be cut out. I create the end of the strip using the divide tool in path find er to subtract two circles from the corners to be left with a shape that curves out at the top which when placed into a slit will keep it in place.

Just to be sure I measured the entire legnth of the packaging net so the strip would fit around the box 

perfectly. 

I printed out my packaging net and the strip in a smaller specific just to get a feel for what my box was shaping up to be like and if any adjustments needed to be made before sending off to the laser cutter. 

On this particular net I had put any sizing on the spine and the word briefs was verticle which I dont think worked very well as it looked abit out of position. So I decided to scrap this , not have the word briefs on at all and let the symbol on the strip do the talking. In replace of this I decided to put the size above and below the website address on the spine to balance out the type. 

Goals and thoughts for the future

So I have figured, I need to start thinking about what I want to do after the second year of my foundation degree at Newcastle College. At the moment I am unsure on what particular area of graphic design I want to specialise in. Since leaving compulsory education , I have managed to gain a hand full of freelance clients ranging from branding to fashion design which have really helped me build quite a strong portfolio.

At the moment I work as a graphic designer for Cosmic Ballroom , which has been voted best UK small club in the UK. Whilst working for Cosmic I have enjoyed designing and branding a variety of in-house nights for the club. I have been working for Cosmic for about 6 months now and really enjoying it but I feel i need to expand my horizons a little bit and look for other platforms to express myself creatively rather than flyers for club events.

So Im really into fashion and would love to go into some area of graphic design regarding this sector , Ive always been interested in clothing and despite the competitive market , I feel I could bring something new to already saturated market.

Even though I know nothing of putting together an actual garment Im keen to learn and would love to be a part of the process down to every little detail. It's really something that drives me , when I see a shirt or buy a piece of clothing , Im always nit picking on what could have been done better or how I would have done it. This drives my ambition to create my own clothing line , consisting of tailored garments with extra attention to detail and quality.

My Goals for this year are :

Look into fashion & graphic design internships
Practice and define my craft.
Maintain a healthy creative environment
Get out more , Network go to more events.

CI563 Packaging Design - Development Continued ...

I went back to my note book and started over , I still really liked the idea of still using a die cut to 

represent the products and wanted to let the product spreak a little. 

I started out with a regaular box shape , on this would be die cut outline of the product with a strip running down the left occupying the white space. This strip would have all the details such as the logo , sizing and website. 

I again began to doubt this idea and the legibility of my illustrations if I was just going to show half of the product Would the customer really get what was inside straight away? . I wasn't entirely confident with this and felt more work needed to be done to make this work. 

I wanted to keep a the idea of 

having a strip running down the box so I decided it would be more 

effective to have the details on the strip rather than the actual box. 

I started to think of new ways to adjust the average box shape. 

Playing around with little paper 

prototypes to see what curves i could achieve with scissors. I came to the conclusion I wanted to have curved corners, I liked the idea of having a rounded box instead of sharp corners. It made it feel much more friendly and icon like.  The box would have a strip running horizontally around the contents. The detail on the strip would be done using a die cut , Im not sure wether I can achieve that much detail on the boxer shorts with a die cut but im going to have to experiment with that. I wanted the colour of the box to shine through the lettering and give it another 

dimension rather than just using printed type. 

CI563 Packaging Design - Development Continued ...

My first idea was to have each box for a seperate product which would make up an overall box shape when faced flat . Each box would be exactly the same shape , taking inspiration from the way boxes are formulated using isometic grids. The product would be communicated via a die cut of an illustration of the product inside. I wanted to represent the products in the simplest form I could. 

I began to think about colours and what promoted masculinity I thought about having each box be a shade of the colour representing how the light would drop onto a box in real setting. 

I slowly began to worry about the functionality of this idea whilst getting too caughtt up working on isometic paper . I really liked the idea of all of the products forming together to create a box but I was unsure on a couple of things i.e

- how effective the visual of the die cut would be.

- The positioning of the logo / information on this shape , Would it be skewed or just in the centre?

- How the product would fit in?

I started feel like I was too held back and picked a really arkward shape to work with. 

Inspite of this I mocked up a visual using a draft net I drew . This gave me a much better idea of the outcome , I was still not conifdent on the shapes functionality , I think it would look great but it wouldnt jusitfy the product inside.

CI563 Packaging Design - Development

After our first briefing I began to create a mind map to help summarise the core values of what box wanted. 

I began to think about the limitations and contraints of the solution box were looking for and started to gain a general idea of there potential customers. Men who don't have enough time to shop online or simply don't like shopping and want a quick , easy and cost effective solution to purchasing undergarments. The fact the packaging has to fit through a standard letterbox is something I am really going to have to think out and solve.

CI563 Packaging Design - Research into Good Packaging

I love the simplicity and the materials used to execute such innovative packaging. The functionality of the packaging is to keep the prodcuts intact. I love the way the packaging informs the product without having to say anything It enhances the organic and grown nature of the product.

The shelf presence of this packaging is strong and informs the consumer about both the product but gives them something to keep once the product has been opened which I think is really effective in this day in age as you dont get alot for free. It makes the product more valuable and quality driven just by its packaging. 

I like this idea as the products core form interacts with its packaging, helping the product stand out and give it narrative. Such a simple idea yet it works so effiecntly to reach its target audience. 

These simple illustrated boxes are really effective , instead of the regular display of the product they have chosen to illustrate the box and give it another dimension.

Johnny Cupcakes has been a long standing brand for over 4 years now, built upon the idea of marketing t shirts as bakery products hence the name cupcakes . He stretches this theme across all his packaging using cartons with handles for t shirts. This helps the customer get a piece of the brand but also doubles up as a souvenir.

CI563 Packaging Design - SWOT Analysis

Strengths - Ability to produce vector illustrations from last module , literate in indesign and illustrator.

Weaknesses - Have not yet designed for a 3dimensional product, no experience in choosing stock or using and preparing for the laser cutting machine

Opportunities - As this is a live brief set by monogram london, I have the opportunity for my work to be picked and used for there mail outs.

Threats - The packaging has to fit through a letterbox and be relativity cheap to produce