Packaging design is a complex but simple concept. Its design includes the regional characteristics and national customs of the product, as well as the development of current science and technology. The design is also related to the understanding of packaging. Here is an excerpt: For reference only:
Packaging is a comprehensive reflection of brand concept, product characteristics, and consumer psychology. It directly affects consumers' desire to purchase. We firmly believe that packaging is a powerful means to build affinity between products and consumers
In today's economic globalization, packaging and commodities have been integrated. As a means of realizing commodity value and use value, packaging plays an extremely important role in the fields of production, circulation, sales and consumption. It is an important topic that the business community and designers have to pay attention to. The function of packaging is to protect goods, convey product information, facilitate use, facilitate transportation, promote sales, and increase product added value. As a comprehensive subject, packaging has the duality of combining commodities and art. Successful packaging design must have the following five key points:
Packaging design refers to the selection of appropriate packaging materials, the use of ingenious craftsmanship, and the beautification and decoration design of container structures and packaging for packaged goods. From this we can see the three major elements of packaging design.
The appearance element is the appearance of the display surface of the product packaging, including the size, size and shape of the display surface. There are three types of forms we see in daily life, namely natural forms, artificial forms and accidental forms. But when we study the morphological composition of products, we must find a form that is suitable for any nature, that is, extract things with the same regularity and call them abstract forms.
We know that morphological composition is the appearance elements, or these are called morphological elements, which are various ever-changing forms formed by certain methods and rules. Form is composed of several elements such as points, lines, surfaces, and bodies. The main forms of packaging include: cylinders, cuboids, cones and various shapes, as well as combinations of related shapes and various shapes formed by different cuts. The novelty of packaging forms plays a very important role in visual guidance for consumers. The unique visual form of printing can leave a deep impression on consumers. Packaging designers must be familiar with the characteristics of the morphological elements themselves and their expressions, and use them as materials to express the beauty of the form.
When we consider the appearance elements of packaging design, we must also understand it from the perspective of formal beauty principles. According to the formal aesthetics of packaging design, combined with the functional characteristics of the product itself, various factors are organically and naturally combined to achieve a perfect and unified design image.
The formal beauty rules of packaging appearance elements are mainly considered from the following 8 aspects:
The rules of symmetry and balance
The rules of stability and lightness
The Law of Contrast and Harmony
The Law of Repetition and Echo
The Law of Rhythm and Rhythm
The Law of Comparison and Association
The Law of Proportion and Scale
The Law of Unity and Change
Composition is a complete picture that arranges the trademarks, graphics, text and combinations on the product packaging display surface. The combination of these four aspects constitutes the overall effect of packaging and decoration. Product design composition elements such as trademarks, graphics, text and colors can be called excellent design works if they are used correctly, appropriately and beautifully.
1. Trademark design
A trademark is a symbol, a symbolic image of an enterprise, institution, product or facility. Trademark is a related arts and crafts, which involves various fields such as politics, economics, legal system and art. The characteristics of a trademark are determined by its function and form. It needs to express rich communication content in a relatively small space in a simpler and more general form, and at the same time requires observers to understand its inner meaning in a short period of time. Trademarks can generally be divided into three forms: text trademarks, graphic trademarks, and trademarks that combine text and graphics. A successful trademark design should be the product of an organic combination of creative expressions.
Creativity is the synthesis, analysis, induction and generalization of a certain concept based on design requirements. Through philosophical thinking, abstraction is transformed into images, and the design concept is gradually transformed from abstract evaluation performance into concrete image design.
2. Graphic design
The graphics of packaging and decoration mainly refer to the image of the product and other auxiliary decorative images. As the language of design, graphics are to express the internal and external components of the image and convey information to consumers in the form of visual images. To achieve this goal, accurate positioning of graphic design is very critical. The process of positioning is the process of becoming familiar with the entire content of the product, including the nature of the product, the meaning of the trademark, the product name, and the current status of similar products, and many other factors must be familiarized and studied.
Graphics can be divided into physical graphics and decorative graphics in terms of their forms of expression.
Physical graphics:
Using painting techniques, photography, etc. to express. Painting is the main form of expression of packaging and decoration design. Pictures are drawn according to the needs of the overall packaging concept to serve the goods. Compared with photography, it has the characteristics of freedom of choice, refinement and generalization. The painting technique is intuitive and interesting to appreciate. It is a means of promoting, beautifying and selling products. However, the commercial nature of product packaging determines that the design should highlight the true image of the product and give consumers an intuitive image. Therefore, using photography to express a true and intuitive visual image is the best way to express packaging and decoration design.
Decorative graphics:
It is divided into two expression techniques: concrete and abstract. Concrete figures, landscapes, animals or plant patterns can be used as symbolic graphics for packaging to express the contents and attributes of the packaging. Abstract techniques are mostly used in freehand brushwork, using abstract geometric patterns of points, lines, and surfaces, color blocks, or texture effects to form a picture that is concise, eye-catching, and has a sense of form. It is also the main expression technique for packaging and decoration. Usually, concrete forms and abstract expression techniques are not isolated in packaging and decoration design, but are combined with each other.
The dialectical unity of content and form is a universal rule in graphic design. In the design process, according to the needs of graphic content, corresponding graphic expression techniques are selected to achieve the unity of form and content in graphic design and create It is the basic requirement of packaging designers to produce practical, economical and beautiful decoration design works that reflect the spirit of the times and national style.
3. Color design
Color design occupies an important position in packaging design. Color is an important factor in beautifying and highlighting a product. The use of packaging colors is closely related to the conception and composition of the entire picture design. Packaging colors require flatness and uniformity, which is a high-level summary of color filtering and refining. It is based on people's associations and color habits, and highly exaggerated and discolored is a means of packaging art. At the same time, the color of the packaging must also be restricted by technology, materials, uses, sales areas, etc.
The colors in packaging and decoration design must be eye-catching, have strong contrast, and be highly attractive and competitive, so as to arouse consumers' desire to buy and promote sales. For example, food and bright and rich tones are mainly warm colors, highlighting the freshness, nutrition and taste of food; medicine and simple warm and cold tones; cosmetics commonly use soft mid-tones; small hardware and mechanical tools commonly use blue, black and Other calm color blocks are used to express the characteristics of solidity, precision and durability; bright and eye-catching solid colors and various color blocks with strong contrast between cold and warm are commonly used in children's toys to conform to children's psychology and hobbies; bright and loud colors are often used in sporting goods. Blocks to increase the feeling of activity and movement. Different products have different characteristics and attributes. Designers should study consumer habits and hobbies as well as the changing trends of international and domestic popular colors to continuously enhance the awareness of color sociology and consumer psychology.
4． Text design
Text is a symbol that conveys thoughts, exchanges feelings and information, and expresses a certain theme. The brand name, product name, description, advertising text, manufacturer, company or distribution unit on the product packaging reflect the essential content of the packaging. When designing packaging, these words must be considered as part of the overall packaging design.
The key points of text design in packaging and decoration design are:
The text content is concise, true, vivid, easy to read and easy to remember;
The font design should reflect The characteristics, nature, and uniqueness of the product should be good, with good identification and aesthetic functions;
The arrangement of the text should be harmonious with the overall design style of the packaging.
The material element is the texture and texture of the surface of the material used for product packaging. It often affects the visual effect of product packaging. The best effect of product packaging can be achieved by utilizing the surface changes or surface shapes of different materials. Packaging materials, whether they are paper materials, plastic materials, glass materials, metal materials, ceramic materials, bamboo materials, and other composite materials, all have different texture effects. Using different materials and properly combining them can give consumers different feelings such as novelty, coolness or luxury. Material elements are an important part of packaging design. They are directly related to the overall function and economic cost of packaging, production and processing methods, and recycling of packaging waste.
The use of color in packaging design
In modern society, people have to deal with products almost all the time. The pursuit of fashion and experiential consumption has become a culture, which includes human life. All aspects of clothing, food, use, travel and enjoyment reflect people's increasingly intense pursuit of high-quality life. When we enter the market or supermarket, a dazzling array of products are displayed in front of us with beautiful shapes and bright colors. Against the backdrop of the colorful colors, they seem to be vying to talk to us. We have no time to examine and carefully examine them. When enjoying products with unique shapes and wonderful colors, it is easier to be attracted by packaging with strong colors. This is the role of color, because color has a strong visual sense and expressive power in modern product packaging.
Through long-term life experience, people have consciously or unconsciously formed the ability to judge and feel objects based on color. Unique colors give people a unique visual and psychological experience. It will not only enhance consumers' aesthetic pleasure, but also stimulate consumers' judgment and purchasing confidence, enrich their imagination, and cultivate customers' busy minds. It truly makes us feel the value and power of packaging design color.
As we all know, human sight relies on the action of light to observe the beginning and color of objects and understand objective existence. Without the illumination of light, human visual activities will disappear, and of course there will be no color. Many objects have different absorption and reflectivity of light, so different colors are produced. Among all objects, black objects can absorb seven colors of light, while white objects can reflect all seven colors of light. It is for this reason that black and white lose their color appearance compared with other colors, forming their own unique achromatic attributes.
This article talks about color from the perspective of packaging design. It is not a discussion of the so-called physical knowledge such as optics, electromagnetic waves and wavelengths, but based on the theoretical basis of design color science, focusing on the hue, color and color of the color. Research on issues such as lightness, purity and color psychology. In the ocean of commodities, packaging design is constantly changing techniques, innovating forms, and shaping individual characteristics, paying special attention to the attributes of colors and the use of colors. The attributes of color are not static, and the changes between the various elements provide rich space for the use of contrast and harmony in design colors.
Among the many product packaging designs, all of them are the fastest, eye-catching and pleasing to the eye to attract consumers' attention. The rich colors convey various tastes and show different quality styles and decorative charms. The pursuit of pure design language is what designers strive for. With a more rational and unique perspective, they strive to get rid of the noisy, complicated, colorful and gorgeous techniques in popular design. Actively look for rationality and simplicity in color design. For example, the "Japanese Gin" designed by Japanese designer Fujita Takashi makes full use of the achromatic properties. Through the design arrangement of golden text on the transparent container, under the action of light and shadow, the design is extraordinary. The design is highly concentrated and summarized, pushing the design to the extreme, like a bright pearl among many products, shining with brilliance.
The selection and combination of colors is very important in packaging design, and is often the key to determining the quality of packaging design. The pursuit of harmony, refinement and simplicity of packaging colors is essentially to avoid the cumbersomeness of excessive colors on packaging. The colorful and gorgeous scenery may not be attractive to people, but may give people a gaudy impression and make people feel dazzled. Proper use of simple color language can better reflect the designer's ability to control color and maximize the potential of color. Under the influence of minimalism, we get rid of the shackles of the attributes of traditional colors, combine modern packaging design theory with the attribute requirements of goods, and use gold, silver, black, white, and gray in achromatic colors to design packaging, which is more attractive. Show the eternal beauty of the product. The special nature of achromatic colors provides a stage full of charm for the packaging design of many products. For example, the packaging designed by Janice Asibi for the "South African Vodka" wine has nothing special about the shape of the container itself. The designer boldly chose five colors to set it off, revealing a strong metallic texture. , the white shield label placed in the center of the graphic, against the background of other achromatic colors, more intensively strengthens the information characteristics of the product, making the entire product appear solemn, elegant and of superior quality.
The use of metallic colors in design helps to enhance the effect of light and shadow, and can enrich the changes in space and levels. Because gold and silver have strong reflective capabilities and sharp characteristics, they show different color effects at different angles and under different light and shadow effects. Proper use will enhance the brilliance, high-end and mystery of the product. Its keen light and shadow changes can reflect the gorgeous, precious and active impression of product packaging. Simply refining and using colorless products can help strengthen the characteristics of the product, improve the quality and grade of the product, and enhance the sense of the times and individual charm of the product.
Colored series have their own distinctive appearance attributes, while gold, silver, black, white and gray in achromatic series also have certain color meanings. In fact, achromatic colors have already formed their own complete color properties in people's psychology, and they are instantly accepted by people and are called eternal popular colors. When looking at black, white, and gray alone, black symbolizes stillness, silence, evil and ominousness, and is considered a negative color. The white evil emotion is neither calming nor irritating. Generally considered as a symbol of tranquility, purity and purity. Gray is also produced when black and white are mixed. Gray is neutral and lacks independent color characteristics. Therefore, gray is monotonous and plain and does not emphasize light and dark like black and white. However, if gray contains negative color tendencies, it will give people a subtle, Soft, high-end, refined, and thought-provoking. Of course, in many packaging designs that are mainly achromatic, they are often dotted with some colors with higher purity. On the one hand, their presentation forms a certain contrast with the achromatic color, and on the other hand, it serves to highlight the main color. The interaction between five colors and colored ones is undoubtedly a very important means to enrich the color effect of product packaging.
Packaging design lies in constant experimentation and exploration. Pursue the beautiful feelings of human life. Color is of great value. It has the most direct and important impact on how we express our thoughts, interests, and hobbies. Grasping color, experiencing design, creating beautiful packaging, and enriching our lives are what we need in this era. The colorless design of the packaging is like a trace of tranquility in the hustle and bustle of the world. Its elegance, simplicity and calmness make people reminisce about another refreshing and elegant fragrance after enjoying the sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty. They are not obvious. The indisputable attributes will exude eternal charm in packaging design.
Packaging design combines art and natural science and applies it to the packaging protection and beautification of products. It is not "art" in a broad sense, nor is it simply decoration, but includes science, art, and materials. It is a multi-functional manifestation of comprehensive factors such as , economic, psychological, and market.
Packaging has two main functions: one is to protect the product; the other is to beautify and promote the product. The basic task of packaging design is to complete the shape, structure and decoration design of product packaging scientifically and economically.
(1) Packaging design
Packaging design is also called body design, which mostly refers to the shape of packaging containers.
It uses aesthetic principles to visually express the shape of packaging containers with packaging functions and beautiful appearance through changes in shape, color and other factors. Packaging containers must be able to reliably protect the product, must have an excellent appearance, and must be economical.
(2) Packaging structure design
Packaging structure design is based on the basic functions of packaging such as protection, convenience, reusability and actual production conditions, and based on scientific principles. Designed with specific consideration of the external and internal structures. An excellent structural design should take effective protection of goods as its primary function; secondly, it should consider the convenience of use, carrying, display, shipping, etc.; it should also try to consider functions such as reusability and display of contents.
(3) Packaging and decoration design
Packaging and decoration design uses patterns, words, colors, reliefs and other artistic forms to highlight the characteristics and image of the product, striving for exquisite shapes, novel patterns, and Bright colors and bright text decorate and beautify products to promote product sales. Packaging and decoration is a comprehensive science, which is both a practical art and an engineering technology. It is an organic combination of arts and crafts and engineering technology, and takes into account marketing, consumer economics, consumer psychology and other disciplines.
An excellent packaging design is the organic unity of packaging design, structural design, and decoration design. Only in this way can the role of packaging design be fully exerted. Moreover, packaging design not only involves the two academic fields of technology and art, but also involves many other related disciplines in their respective fields. Therefore, it takes a lot of hard work to get a good packaging design.
Three-dimensional knowledge of packaging design
Designers already know this before starting to plan packaging design; the beautification of packaging is based on the graphic design of the three-dimensional packaging and is external to the packaging. Visual image, in which elements such as product-related text, product pictures, product origin, and visual image representation can be imported. Some packaging surfaces themselves are a manifestation of product information. However, as the basic six aspects of packaging, it is also a partial image expression. Similarly, the design of container labels not only focuses on the design of a label, but also the shape of the label and the container, and the relationship between the labels. Therefore, the design of packaging visual introduction is similar to advertising design in some aspects. And it also needs to pay attention to other aspects to make the entire package form a whole.
1. Design of the main display surface
If a carton package has six sides, five sides usually need to be designed (the bottom surface design is relatively low). A container can have one to three labels, up to five or six. They are not treated equally. Depending on the exhibition area, the main exhibition design is determined in order to attract consumers' attention. The main exhibition area is the one facing the most consumers. With its positioning method, the position of the trademark, product image, manufacturer, etc. is carefully considered to make it clear at a glance. Since the main exhibition area is relatively small and at the same time it is the image of the product itself, the decoration screen should quickly introduce the product to consumers and express it directly using text and close-up images. Among similar products, eye-catching brand names and trademarks often appear on the main exhibition area that first reaches consumers; the appearance of a moving scene depends on the actual situation of the product. Sometimes the method of opening skylights can be used to directly display the image of the product and increase its promotional effect. in packaging design. The main exhibition area plays a leading role in conveying product information.
2. Overall packaging design
However, the main display surface of the packaging should not be isolated. In the overall packaging, it is still a part, an important part. Packaging is a three-dimensional object, and people see the packaging from multiple angles. While considering the main exhibition surface, we must also consider the relationship with other surfaces. Consider the overall image of the entire package. Through techniques such as coherence, repetition, echoing and segmentation among words, graphics and colors, the overall composition is formed.
1. A carton package, its front and back become the main display surfaces. However, if the width of the side is equal to the main exhibition area, the same design is sometimes used. It becomes the same "main exhibition", and you get a unified feeling no matter what angle you look at.
2. Focus on the front and back, and display the ingredients, functions, weight, instructions for use, shelf life, batch numbers of various competent authorities and other explanatory text on the side. In terms of formal elements and constituents, they should be related and differentiated, produce rhythmic changes, and reflect the guarantee of science and quality.
3. Arrange images, text, graphics and colors across surfaces to connect several surfaces into one main body, a large "main exhibition surface", and the picture on each surface is also complete. This kind of design uses a combination of different surfaces to form a large advertising screen when displayed in the store, achieving strong visual effects and publicity effects.
4. The color design of the label is inseparable from the relationship with the container, the relationship between the labels, and the relationship with the top cover. Pursue the consistency of the label background color and container color, and highlight the brand name and graphics. The white containers of female cosmetics are paired with white labels, with delicate line borders and elegant black fonts, making them look clean and elegant; while the black brandy wine is paired with black labels to emphasize the color of the labels and containers. In contrast, the background color of the label uses gold, silver, white, black and other relatively saturated colors to create a contrast in brightness and hue with the container, creating a strong and lively effect. Printing the name and trademark directly on the container is also a way.