Package design that's too pretentious for its own good.

Martha Seidner is vice president of Smith Design,
a brand design firm with offices in New Jersey
and California. The firm specializes in design for
consumer brands with a focus on identity and
package design for mass and premium foods,
consumer electronics, entertainment and health &
beauty brands. martha@smithdesign.com

I’d been thinking about what to write for this column as the deadline loomed closer. After 20 years in the brand ID and package design business, what could I possibly discuss that hasn’t already been covered or dare I say pontificated upon? Could it be the importance and role of global branding, sustainable packaging, “consumer insights,” green-washing or the scourge of private label brands digging deeper into CPG market share? What could I possibly offer that’s not already been covered? Well, maybe something, though I’d rather share some random musings and observations. So….here goes.


1. Thank you Peter Arnell: Embarrassment aside, for probably the biggest, costliest and most obvious design faux pas of the century, kudos to Mr. Arnell for bringing the importance of package design as a real discipline, to the forefront of marketing. Yes, package design is a specialty field within marketing design and while a few, rare, uber-talents can cross pollinate between disciplines, why bother? The inherent risk in entrusting your brand’s package design (it’s most valuable asset) to a great product designer or brilliant adman is well, just plain irresponsible. That’s like letting your SEO guy plan your total media spend for outdoor, TV and radio. Where common sense rules in accounting, law, medicine, and finance, where even specialists have specialties, entrusting your package design to those proficient in other specialties is well, simply unwise. And, if you are designing a food brand, make sure your design firm actually goes to the supermarket each week, and shops the category that your consumer shops, and not just for the 1 week they’re doing Discovery. The buzz about the inherent risk of changing your brand’s package design is all the rage in brand planning meetings. Yet, they need to realize that the risk lies not in “change,” but “what” you’re changing, “who” you’re listening too about making that change. Trust your gut. Common sense rules. Change is good. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Bad. If you market packaged goods, your package is your  #1 communication tool. If you didn’t get it before, thanks to Mr. Arnell, you get it now.

A new launch that uses white strategically, with appetite and flavor appeal.2. Package Design has gotten a little bit too pretentious: OK, close your eyes. I’m channeling an iconic brand that stands for families, fun, high school, college, pre-school, grade school, moms, dads, kids, teens, bachelors, America, all incomes, thirst quenching, bolts of energy, activity, blasts of color and instant fuel for sweaty people who like to watch and play sports. And it’s stood for all of those things for about as long as I can remember. OK. Are you visualizing an austere, bold letter G, sitting lonely on a giant highway billboard or simply placed on a ‘clean’ plastic bottle? Is it just me or does it really makes sense to dilute the powerful Gatorade brand down to a single letter, and expect people to “get it”? Gee. I don’t.

3. Clean, white and modern will (once again) be passé.  It’s happened before. Modern design becomes dated. And, what’s most exciting is what’s coming in brand ID and package design because everything is really starting to look oh-so-simple, tasteful and… the same. When private label brands jumped on the ‘clean-euro-design’ bandwagon and the national brands jumped right on next to them, we ended up with a shelf full of clean and white. Visually there’s hardly a difference between the myriad of choices. Marketers know that differentiation is key to branding and package design, the key to a brand’s success. Being different is your reason for being. I’m looking forward to the move away from modern toward something new and fresh. We recently redesigned the iconic Popsicle brand. It needed a good clean up, but it still looks like Popsicle, with all the vibrant color and fun so inherent to that brand. No, we didn’t even consider white. Smith Design was also charged to develop a totally new beverage brand, Earth Wise, juice drinks with superfruits. The charge was “simple but not modern.” The client wanted the brand to stand apart from what’s out there. The use of white is not austere, it’s just simple. Earth Wise makes you want to try a glass because it's appetizing and inviting.

4. Eco-packaging does not have to be hemp & hulls. Americans love pretty, sparkly things, now don’t we?  And guess what, the rest of the world still wants to be like us. Politics and economic climate aside, beautiful imagery speaks to people better than the burlap & beige look. And even when we’re trying to be environmentally responsible we’re not giving up luxury, elegance and visual pleasures. Smith Design was recently challenged to create a sustainable and 100% recyclable package structure and brand design for a world-class, luxury chocolate brand. We Environmentally responsible packaging that’s fashionable and luxurious.specified carbon neutral papers made with green-e certified wind energy. The look is luxe and fashionable. Not a hemp seed in sight. The brand ID is inspired by design motifs from European history combined with vibrant innovation; right in tune with the brand’s positioning. We gave Antoine Amrani boxes that reviewers say are “so pretty you’ll want to keep them.” But just in case you don’t want to, they’re also 100% recyclable.

5. Package Design is more important than ever. Web 2.0 and social networking makes visual branding and package design ever more important. Social media guru and super-brand himself, Gary Vaynerchuk, just launched a new gourmet food website where every product has a video review. (Vaynerchuk, by the way, also just started his own social media Agency—which makes him an expert in that—so I wouldn’t go to Gary to redesign your brand’s package…
see point #1 above.)

The new website is remarkable because every shopping cart visual and every single video features the product’s package. Of course, it’s all done in that transparent, unrehearsed seat-of-the-pants style which has made winelibrary.com a $50 million-a-year business through the success of its web 2.0 strategies. So, not only do you see the product reviewed, the package is still integral to the experience whether online or in the store. Package design still matters. Now, only more.

Package design that's too pretentious for its own good.

Environmentally responsible packaging that’s fashionable and luxurious.

An iconic brand refresh that feels fresh and is still fun.

A new launch that uses white strategically, with appetite and flavor appeal.