This creates a lot of unnecessary waste, additional cost, and has a significant impact on the environment. This box then has multiple glue spots, and is even sometimes wrapped in clear plastic. Some companies wrap each teabag individually, place all of these inside a box with cardboard spacers between each row.

A pet peeve of mine is the excessive use of packaging for things, such as teabags. Responsible package design attempts to use the minimum amount necessary to hold the product safely. To create responsible package design, many factors need to be considered the amount of packaging necessary, the number of glue spots, the shape/complexity of the die forme, and the lifecycle of the package. Brands that have a loyal following often upset consumers when they change their once familiar packaging maybe in this case a little too much of the old character was stripped away. Beerenberg even had to put out a media release to reassure customers that their prices were staying the same.

While a lot of people like the new designs, many consumers assumed that the products had gone up in price from the austere appearance of the packaging. This is an example of package design that I feel has concentrated a little too heavily on the designer’s wants, rather than that of the target audience. Some packaging that has undergone a recent makeover is the Beerenberg range. The majority of consumers want to know what the product they’re purchasing looks like. For example, when designing packaging for certain foods, the product either needs to be visible (through clear packaging or a clear window), or there need to be an image of the product on the packaging. Like any category of design, you need to identify your audience and understand what appeals to them. But now that I have been working in the industry, I understand that there are certain elements that are necessary to appeal to consumers, which may or may not appeal to designers. When I was studying packaging at University, my mentor told me how the students from the year before had produced some very nice designs, but that they wouldn’t have sold a thing in the real world.Īt the time I found this contradictory, as I assumed that good design would equal good sales.

Icarus sandwich shop