Volume 13, Number 4, Fall 2002

Package design is a rich and challenging discipline. Among other things, it has to convey identity, inform, protect, and sell. Exploring this intersection of design and business, one contributor ponders cultural significance; others, the role of research and processes that lead to success. There are analyses of effective branding. There are hands-on examples and case studies. There is a celebration of student work, a thoughtful review of sustainability, and a look into the retail environment as package. Enjoy the journey.

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Corporate brand and packaging design
Jack Vogler, Vice President, Enterprise IG; Susan Nelson, Vice President, Enterprise IG
There was a time not so long ago when a brand was simply a name that identified a range of products and promised a certain level of quality. But in this era of corporate mergers and acquisitions, it has become more and more common for one brand to...

Eco-design and successful packaging
Robert Holdway, Research Fellow, Royal Academy of Art; David Walker, Co-Founder and Partner, giraffe; Mark Hilton, Senior Environmental consultant, Enviros Aspinwall
How successful is your product's packaging if, after you remove or use up the product, that packaging ends up in a landfill or, even worse, in an ocean? Ideally, not only your packaging, but also the very product it contains and protects, should...

Is your package shelf-evident?
Ted Selame, Senior Vice President, BrandEquity International; Penny Koukos, Vice President, Creative Operations, BrandEquity International
Selame and Koukos, executives at BrandEquity International, begin this article with a brief look at the history of packaging-a story that, it is likely, even many packaging designers do not know. As an industry, packaging emerged at the end of the...

Mission Foods: Unifying cultural consumer expectations through design
Susan Bierzychudek, Vice President of Marketing, Axion Design
In 1999, Mission Foods, the largest manufacturer and marketer of tortilla products in the US and Mexico, tapped Axion Design to restage its brand. This would be a challenge: Mission and its brand were selling to two distinctly different consumer...

Of eggs and packaging
Kenji Ekuan, Chairman, GK Design Group, Toyko
Once you have read this article, you will have a hard time thinking of an egg as, well, just an egg. In this playful and ruminative piece, Japanese designer Kenji Ekuan ponders the role of the egg as the perfect package. "To hold as much nutrition...

Package design in the halls of academia
Joseph Bottoni, Professor, University of Cincinnati
Seldom do designers get the chance to create the packaging for a product they've designed themselves. Usually, the product is designed by another designer, and there are several layers of disciplines between the product developer and the package...

Package design: A nexus for creativity and business success
Thomas Walton, Editor, Design Management Journal
Editor’s notes for Volume 13, Number 4, Packaging: Designing the Interface between Customers, Products, and Brands

Packaging design, consumer research and business strategy: The march toward accountability
Scott Young, President, Perception Research Services
Clients increasingly demand proof that a product's packaging is as successful as it possibly could be. In other words, they want accountability.

Packaging the interior environment
Tim Bachman, President, Bachman Design
Manufacturers and marketers have known for a long time that packaging can greatly enhance the sales of a product. Not only does it provide protection, but it also organizes the contents of a product offering and instructs the consumer on the use...

The core creative concept in branding: A streamlined approach
Kim Zarney, President and Creative Director, Zarney Creative
Implementing a successful packaging program in today's business environment, says Kim Zarney of Zarney Creative, is a bit like stir-fry cooking: All the ingredients need to be assembled, and the recipe has to be handy, because once the pan is hot...