VISUAL STUDIESThis was the first graded assignment that I did in Design 251. Squished in-between the intro to Subject Translation and our packaging assignment, I wasn’t really sure in which chapter to include it. In the end though I think that this project really is the perfect introduction to the 3D packaging assignment, and to my design journey in general. Packaging is all about the juxtaposition of images and ideas. One doesn’t want to have a package that is completely unrelated to the object that is inside because that is confusing; at the same time if the outer packaging and inner object are too similar then that is boring. There needs to be either a formal or concep-tual connection between the two. It is all about balance.

Mostly this assignment just made me think really, really hard.

I really wracked my brain to figure out the perfect image juxtapositions. It made me realize just how hard it is to just do something as seemingly simple as find two images that com-pliment each other.

DESCRIPTIONPick four sets of images that compliment each other design-wise

SPECIFICATIONS + 4 boards, each with 2 photos (5”5”), 5’’ x 10’’ total + orientation can be vertical or horizontal + all need to address formal relationships + at least two need to be juxtapositions in which new mean-

ing is formed + on back have name + 2 sentence typed + description

THE IMAGESAll of the images I picked to work with save one (which was from a Japanese design book I have) came from an old National Geographic photo book that a friend and I bought for five dollars from a used book store nearby. We picked it because it was huge and full of a diverse set of glossy high-quality images from around the world. Having easy access to hundreds of good photos was really half of the battle.

PROCESS

PACKAGING ANALYSISWe were told to bring in 3 examples of interesting packaging and analyze them. I looked at the structure, the type-face, and the tone of voice of each.

3D PROJECT:PACKAGINGI was excited when I heard about this assignment as I’ve been making packaging for the products that I sell on my Etsy online shop for quite a while. The part that threw me off about this project had to do with the memory portion and the limits on the object to be packaged. I’m so used to making things look marketable and professional that it was hard to make it more personal.

PREVIOUS PACKAGING ENDEAVORS

Ghostling Earring Card “Octobox” Jewelry Packaging

OBJECTIVES + to understand the relationship of form to meaning + to understand the role of imagery in communication + to visually convey connections between package and

object via emotion + to refine attention to detail and craft + to successfully photograph your work

REQUIREMENTS + you must own the object and be able to bring it to class + no more than 6” in any direction + does not expire (i.e. is not fruit or made of organic material) + form must be constructed and photographed, both are to

be submitted as final work + the packaging should house the object itself, independent

of additional ephemera + no typography

CONSIDERATIONS + How can you employ the senses to evoke emotional con-

nections? + To what level does your packaging need to protect the

object? + How well are you telling the story, what is the story you are

telling? + What is the relationship of the packaging to the object? + Does your packaging evoke curiosity in the viewer, a desire

to experience it? + How have you considered materials / shape / construction

/ imagery / color ?

CHOOSING THE OBJECTI first thought of using my trusty friend, Hippie the beanie baby rabbit for my object, but as Hippie is a little bit too precious of an object I decided against it. I have many precious objects that I could have used, but most of them are from my childhood and thus, are a bit too charged for me. Not necessarily negatively, but I wanted an object that had less of a nostalgic background. Something a bit more happy that had an easily explainable emotion behind it. I ended up choosing a Beansprout Keychain that I made a few years ago. It was really frustrating to sew because it is so small. I had to make over 10 of them before I got this one, which is the first one that turned out correctly. The feeling of frustration and then a feeling of accomplishment is a feeling that I think that I can distill down into packaging fairly well.

COLOR INSPIRATION

Etsy Sellers (etsy.com): boygirlparty, zime, triciatrisha69, bittersweetenmi, prittylilthing

INTERESTING BOXES

INFLUENTIAL

Etsy sellers (etsy.com): zime, save this envelope, HoneyCanadda Other: sprout seeds, Eyeline Creative, Adrian Yates, scrubudubsub

PROTOTYPESI first tried to make tube shaped packaging, but quickly real-ized that because of the holes in the pea pod that the tube will not hold its shape. Unless I wanted to change the mate-rial to something like chipboard, I’d have to make it rectan-gular.

1. 2.

PROTOTYPE #1The pea pod on this one is printed. There is no texture and it loses some of its mystery. Template, however is superior to #2.

PROTOTYPE #2I like the texture of the felt front on this one but not the thick card-board material. A thinner cardboard is needed.

Perhaps a hybrid of these two designs would be best?

CARDBOARD MATERIAL + seems natural/eco friendly + goes with color pallette + nice texture

PROCESS

PHOTOGRAPHS

FINAL PHOTO