Packaging Primer

June 11, 2008

This is the place to discuss all aspects of packaging design.

I’m going to throw out a laundry list of packaging design topics, and design topics in general. I expect this list to grow. My reason for doing so is I love good packaging design. I want to know how and why it works, how I can implement these insights into my work to make it better. Conversely, there seems to be a lot of bad design being produced, often with very grand intent. Hopefully we’ll be able to push and pull at some of the sacredly held beliefs and arrive at some clarity. Or not.

Design terms

adaptive
rollover
brand equity
leverage
re brand

What is sustainable?

novel ways of employing sustainability
strategies to get buy-in of sustainable packaging
cradle to cradle

In-store packaging critique

why is grocery retail packaging so ugly?
can anyone make sense of the often chaotic brand extension visual strategies?

Why do we do this?
Why do we care?

My name is Alan Just. I have made a career making art, design and illustration. I started this insanity in 1986, first as a fine art painter. I moved on to illustration – airbrush, painting, mixed media, you name it – because my family needed to eat. Eventually, I began picking up design projects, mostly illustration-heavy point-of-sale projects. Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, a Northwest brewer, was a big client of mine in the 90s. During that time Henry’s was sold and I followed my clients to their new positions at Pabst Brewing, where I became their packaging designer. What fun!

It’s now 2008. A very different place than the one we were in five, even three years ago. Especially the packaging space. Big box stores and hyper cost-consciousness have changed the access to and the sensibilities of those who buy our work. What I’m interested in is how to navigate this landscape. More importantly, how do we continue to find and experience joy in what has been a wonderful profession.
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