Illustrated Package Design - Text

After looking through my collected research I began looking through a variety of typefaces that have potential usability for my packaging.

These included -

Real Ale Real Food – chalkduster

Real Ale Real Food – 

Cracked

I went for types that had a rough look to them and if possible look hand done.

The chalkduster makes me think of the small advertising boards that small shops have outside, just a simple advert, hand done instead of a flashy digitally made advert.

The cracked typeface gives the more weathered look that reminds me of the hop sack from WVB, its something used in the physical labour and the type shows this.

The last type I found was Handwriting - Dakoto, I liked this even though it didn't show the roughness of cracked, it gives a more personal hand done look. It makes me think of a company making the product and signing it to give it a personal touch and as well almost showing how proud they are of their product, its locally made with high quality ingredients, their going to want people to know this.

After having another look at the Legges site I realised that with their tagline and other pieces of text they actually use a form of Handwriting - Dakoto.

This further proves my thoughts about this typeface and for my next step I will see how this will look on my packaging. 

http://www.leggesofbromyard.com/

Beer and Food Matching Research

As one of my packaging's alternate uses will be to give information regarding a specific recipe or a general good combination of beer and food, I had a look online to see what people have already discovered works well together.

The site of interest that I came across was the campaign for real ale site. This had a section (linked below) that was dedicated to looking at what types of ale go best with each specific food.
Using this would mean the potential idea of having a variety of different recipe's on each of WVB's ales, which would then allow the consumer to collect a vast amount of knowledge of combining the ales they buy with their everyday meals. Of course this is just a potential and not plausible for this brief as it would require many different designs for each individual ale.

Using this information now allows me to find a tried and tested food recipe that will go great with a specific ale. The packaging will be dedicated to the specific ale instead of a general this can go OK with any ale recipe

http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=282021
Edit - Recently the site has prevented me from viewing its pages and i believe this is to do with making an account with them first as I don't think this was around previously.

Whilst looking back at WVB's site I found that already their dropping hints about some good ale and food combinations. Their beer of the month which is "Christmas Whiskers" has extra information about how it goes well with Game, Plum Pudding and Mince Pies, perfect for the winter weather.

http://www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk/beers/index.html

New Twine, New Look

Following further feedback regarding my twine use I invested in a more natural and rustic looking twine.

One trip to Homebase and I now have a more natural looking twine that is also compostable, making the packaging even greener.

Using the new weaving pattern I used my previous prototype as a tester for the twin to see how it works and looks.
Unlike the previous twine it goes with the packaging far better and almost blends into it, instead of sticking out as it was white. The texture of the twine is also slighter rougher which again helps with this rustic look that the packaging portrays.
I think this is a large improvement over the previous twine and the overall packaging benefits from the new look and texture.

Research into Rustic

From feedback received a more rustic feel from the typeface would be more suitable for my packaging.

From taking the word rustic sort of feel that I get from my research is a handcrafted almost rough look. Its a look that's been done by hand, its unpolished and has a personalized look that looks like its come from somewhere local and natural.
For an actual package design if made from wood, this would be quite a good technique to use as it gives a real rustic/handcrafted look but wouldn't be as affective at meeting the brief and generally being as plausible as cardboard.

http://www.nicecarvings.com/home/how-to-tutorials/distressed-wood-tutorial

A fantastic example of the sort of type I will go for was shown from the brewery itself. This is one of the hop sacks they used which is on display in the brewery. The text used is the style I require for my packaging, it has the hand done, rough look to make the text and packaging go together and suit the style of the brewery.

As well after looking through this style of design I have also decided to stick with keeping the packaging to its basic cardboard colour. This means that there will be a huge amount less ink needed, which is helping towards its cost and how green it is and I feel it will go with the rustic theme that I will attempt to implement. All together though I feel they will all tie in together and the packaging will have continuity.

Use of Twine/String in Packaging Research

Before and whilst using twine/string in my packaging I had a search around the internet to see what kind of use it has had previously within package design.

A nice simple use this, it can hold the package together with a small amount of it and all it needs is a small knot in it. This is what I wanted to be present in my packaging, minimal use of a material whilst it can easily hold it together.

http://sunnyfionadesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/laurel-denise-2011-calendar.html


Another good use of string/twine and woven materials. This example gave me the idea of using some sort of bag like design to transport the bottles and a simple pull string to hold it all together, simple and uses few materials. Unfortunately these wouldn't be stack-able, wouldn't be very practical when lining them up on a shelf for selling and wouldn't be able to display the product inside which is essential for this brief.

http://www.bagsonline.in/cotton_draw_string_bags__pouch


Another area of string/twine I looked into was how it can be used for handles. Having this as a material for handles due to it being environmentally friendly and being extremely tough, this does not pull apart easily like cardboard would. This would have good potential when mixing it in with my design and would increase its life line in terms off keeping it from falling apart. The current design a cardboard handle that does work but I am considering replacing it with twine.

http://wubbahed.com/2007/07/10/jute-a-lo-handbag/

Illustrated Package Design - Drafts Board

Now my design is at a more advanced stage I have begun to create some of the imagery in illustrator. Beginning this I drew up the drafts board and tokens that will be inside the box.
Making half the squares black and leaving the other squares un-coloured (Cardboard colour for this prototype) will distinguish the two players easily and would save ink with the printing, which would then save the company further money.

Prototype Improvements - Tabs

From testing my prototype i realised that the current tabs used are not strong enough to hold the top of the box together.

With their current simple square design they have a habit of sliding out of the slot. Looking at this issue I returned to looking at other tab designs that would work better for my packaging.

As I wanted someway for the tabs to hook inside the slots to avoid them slipping out, this seemed a suitable solution. Using this style of tab allows it to hook inside the slot and at the very least provides much better support than a flat square tab. This style of tab will be worked with to make it suitable for my design and should improve the quality and strength of the lid of the package.

Prototype Improvements - Twine Sides

Feedback received from the group and Jennie showed that it was a good idea but wasn't entirely plausible with the amount used. Now knowing this i worked on a few more ways I could still use it but make it more appropriate for this brief and more useable in industry. I will also collect a brown twine for the final package to give the more natural/rustic look, CAT had some good bundles made from hemp of this but unfortunately this idea wasn't at this stage for me to know to grab some. I will collect some from Homebase to give it the closest possible look that I would like the final package to have.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=880790&Trail=searchtext%3ETWINE

Idea Number 1

This first design does the original weaving pattern but reduces the amount of twine used by half and halves the amount of weaves done. This makes it must faster to put together, is still strong enough to support the bottles and cuts the material usage making it cheaper.

Idea Number 2

Looking at the previous idea I wondered if i could progress on it further, I think i have accomplished this. This uses even less twine and less weaves, when tested with the bottles it was capable of supporting the weight of the bottles and still keeping the integrity of the box intact. This can be done in literally seconds making it far more plausible for industry use, it meets Jennie's feedback for making it more useable for WVB and helps it meet the brief. 

This idea will be taken forward.

More Advanced Prototype

Following the design in the previous post I created a prototype for it.

This new design has had a large reduction in the amount of cardboard making it much greener, had an alteration to the locking system which now uses tabs and slots and now incorporates twine.

I have also shown the potential design layout of text/logo's to receive feedback on how it is and how it can be improved.

Potential Improvements from Feedback

After having my new prototype looked over by my learning team I began to see some simple improvements that I could do that would strengthen and make the packaging better.

Firstly the point of would it be safe in transit and when being held. It was measured to fit the bottles together snugly which would avoid them clanging against each other, this was tested yesterday with all three bottles in together, they fit and don't clang off each other. For the carrying issue though I realised that I had not given enough material for the handle, its capable of holding the bottles but with strain that looks like it will give way. For the final the handle will be looked at.

For the drafts pieces I had them pop-out able along the bottom of the box but it was discussed that this would damage the strength of the box, they will be moved to an upper area of the box on the final.

People would like the small illustration of the front to be more visible/larger and potentially extend to the back of the box. This is something I will consider for the final.

The text was the last potential improvement from my group. At the moment people think it doesn't suit the look of the box enough and that a more rustic typeface may work better. This is something I will definitely look into and may implement into the final design.

After having Jennie have a look over my design I got quite positive feedback about it. The bit of feedback I did receive was to do with the twine holding the sides together. While it does look really nice it will require time to put together and a company will not hire someone to just do that. To fix this issue the solution of reducing the amount of twine used, reducing the amount of cross-overs by half would make putting it together much faster, still prevent bottles falling out and still holding the packaging together. This will definitely be worked on for the final design and it will make it much more useable in the industry.