more information technology, including virtual retail, and
as consumers require more precise product information.
Packaging design will play an increasingly important role in
helping retailers to meet their legal and corporate commitments
to environmental sustainability.
< Key text Changing retail environments Environmental considerations >
1st Proof Title: AVA - Packaging The Brand Job No: PD1010-58/Peihua chapter 5_final_.indd 184
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1st Proof Title: AVA - Packaging The Brand Job No: PD1010-58/Peihua chapter 5_final_.indd 185
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Displaying packaging online
Designers need to consider how a product will be shown or rendered in the online environment. In a store, a consumer sees the product at full-size and can handle it. Online, only an image of a product can be shown and this will almost certainly not be life size. When displayed small, the branded graphics on an online product become almost ‘impotent’, according to Herbert M Meyers, co-author of The Visionary Package. So how well will a reduced-size image of a product convey the carefully crafted brand message?
Packaging design for online products needs to be designed to create a strong visual impact when displayed in an online store, even at relatively small sizes. As the online environment operates differently, there is a valid argument for developing different approaches to traditional methods in order to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by new media.
Distribution of online goods
Products sold online still have to withstand the rigours of physical distribution by the postal service or a parcel courier. Products may require an additional outer sleeve or even to be boxed and stuffed with tissue paper; shredded paper or packing peanuts may also be necessary. Packaging a product well provides a company with the opportunity to show customers that it cares about how the product arrives and presents the designer with the additional challenge of extending the brand communication to the outer packaging. Think outside of the box by adding the logo, brand name and website on the outside of the box, parcel or packaging.
Good packaging can go some way to generating repeat sales and can wow people when the product arrives at their door. This is important as branding is still crucially signifi cant for online retailers. For products sold online, it is important to make clear how consumers can receive after-sales service in the event of a potential product defect, either in the packaging itself or in the information contained within it.
Online marketing channels may provide many benefi ts and cost savings but they do not obviate the importance of communication and brand building. Sending products presents an opportunity to provide additional brand and product information via other communication pieces directly targeted at the consumer; for example, by including information and coupons for other products within the range. Adding a little something extra can help to create brand loyalty.
However, individual packaging can also add signifi cantly to the cost of shipping, and so a balance between adequate protection and economy must be struck.
Retail is moving away from traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to virtual spaces, such as the Internet, illustrated by the examples pictured here. The virtual mannequin (above) is an indicator of how people will commonly shop for clothes and other goods in the future. The web page for Jean Paul Gaultier perfumes (right) presents an online version of a boutique store, complete with concierge, stairway and rooms.
1st Proof Title: AVA - Packaging The Brand Job No: PD1010-58/Peihua chapter 5_final_.indd 185
1st Proof Title: AVA - Packaging The Brand Job No: PD1010-58/Peihua chapter 5_final_.indd 186
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Sustainable packaging
The need to produce sustainable packaging has become more and more widespread as environmental awareness grows about the dangers of excessive production, consumption and the generation of waste. Packaging designers working for a wide range of sectors now seek to produce packaging that is environmentally sustainable and that will have little – or no – impact on the local or global ecosystem once it has exhausted its primary use.
The sustainable packaging process looks at the raw materials used, at where they come from, and at how they will be disposed of at the end of the packaging’s useful life. This process includes an evaluation of the ‘carbon footprint’ that the product will create. A carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by the packaging, and is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. Once the size of the carbon footprint has been evaluated, a strategy can then be devised to successfully reduce it. This may be achieved by increasing the amount of recycled materials used and by reducing the amount of different materials or components employed to create the packaging, to make it easier to recycle or less harmful to dispose of. Using minimal packaging is a growing trend. Once a designer has conceived of the packaging design, it is routinely submitted to a life-cycle assessment.
Life-cycle assessment
This involves an investigation into and evaluation of the environmental impacts that will be caused by a given product, and gauges how that product measures up to the sustainability aims set by a company, including its likely impact on the whole of the supply chain. A key part of this process involves fi nding ways to change consumer behaviour by providing suffi cient information that will enable users to make more informed decisions about choosing products that have sustainable packaging and which encourage them to recycle more.
Waste hierarchy
The term ‘waste hierarchy’ refers to waste management strategies based on the application of ‘the three Rs’ – reduce, reuse and recycle. The most desirable design strategy is to aim to reduce material usage, then to reuse materials and thirdly to recycle materials. At the very bottom of the hierarchy is the disposal of materials. This hierarchy can guide the decision-making process when creating sustainable packaging, in terms of materials’ use, the size of container used and so on. For example, improving the protective attributes of an inner container may mean that outer packaging is no longer necessary (a prevention strategy) or that less is required (minimisation). Alternatively, the use of several types of plastic in a container could be reduced to one or two in order to make recycling easier (recycling).