Conception of packaging design

Conception is the soul of design. It is difficult to formulate formulas such as fixed conception methods and conception procedures in design creation. Creation mostly progresses from immaturity to maturity. In this process, it is normal to affirm or deny some, modify some or add some. The core of the idea lies in considering two issues: what to express and how to express it. To answer these two questions, we need to solve the following four points: the focus of expression, the angle of expression, the technique of expression and the form of expression. Just like in combat, the focus is on attacking the target, the angle is the breakthrough point, the technique is the tactic, and the form is the weapon. If any of these links is not handled well, all efforts will be wasted.

1. Performance focus

Focus refers to the concentration point of the performance content. Packaging design is carried out within a limited screen, which is a limitation of space. At the same time, the packaging is recognized by buyers within a short period of time during sales, which is a time limitation. This time and space limitation requires that packaging design cannot be blindly comprehensive and comprehensive. Putting everything on it means there is nothing.

The determination of key points requires the comparison and selection of relevant information on commodities, consumption, and sales. The basic point of selection is to help increase sales. Relevant projects that identify key points are listed below for reference.

The product’s trademark image and brand meaning;

The product’s functional utility and texture attributes;

The product’s background of origin and local factors;

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The sales place background and consumer target of this product;

The difference between this product and current products;

The status of the packaging design of similar products;

The product’s *** and its related features, etc.

These are media materials for design conception. When designing, it is necessary to understand as much relevant information as possible, compare and select, and then determine the key points of performance. Therefore, designers are required to have a wealth of knowledge about commodities, markets, residences and life, and the accumulation of cultural knowledge. The more you accumulate, the wider the world of ideas will be, the more ways you will approach it, and the more foundation you will have in choosing key points.

The choice of key points mainly includes three aspects: trademark number, product itself and consumer target. Some products with well-known trademarks or brands can use trademarks and brands as the focus of expression; some products with prominent characteristics or new product packaging can use the product itself as the focus; some products that are highly targeted to users Packaging can focus on consumers. Among them, commodity-focused performance has the largest performance, which will be discussed later. In short, no matter how you present it, you must focus on conveying clear content and information.

2. Angle of expression

This is the deepening after determining the form of expression, that is, after finding the main target, there must be a specific breakthrough. For example, if a trademark or brand name is used as the focus of expression, is it to express the image, or to express a certain meaning of the trademark? If the product itself is the focus of expression, is it expressing the external image of the product, or is it expressing some internal attribute of the product? Is it to show the ingredients of the drug or to show its functional effectiveness? Things have different angles of understanding, and the performance is more concentrated on one angle, which will be beneficial to the clarity of expression.

3. Expression Techniques

Just like the focus and angle of expression are like goals and breakthrough points, expression techniques can be said to be a tactical issue. The focus and angle of performance are mainly to solve what to express. This only solves half the problem. Good expression techniques and forms are the vitality of design.

No matter how it is expressed, it must express the content and certain characteristics of the content. From a broad perspective: everything must have its own particularity, and everything must have a certain relationship with certain other things. In this way, to express a thing or an object, there are two basic methods: one is to directly express certain characteristics of the object, the other is to indirectly rely on certain characteristics of the object, and the other is to indirectly rely on certain characteristics of the object. It should be clear about other things to express things. The former is called direct expression, and the latter is called indirect expression or assisted expression.

1. Direct expression

Direct expression means that the focus of expression is the content itself.

Including expressing its appearance, purpose, usage, etc. The most common method is to use photography or opening windows to express it.

In addition to objective direct expression, there are also the following direct expression techniques using auxiliary methods.

Foil: This is one of the auxiliary methods, which can make the subject more fully expressed. The background image can be concrete or abstract, so be careful not to overwhelm it.

Contrast: This is a form of transformation of foil, which can be called contrast, that is, it uses foil from the opposite side to make the subject appear stronger in contrast. The contrasting part can be concrete or abstract. In direct expression, you can also use methods to change the image of the subject to make its main features more prominent, among which induction and exaggeration are more commonly used techniques.

Summary: Summary seeks clarity through simplification, while exaggeration seeks prominence through change. The main thing they have in common is that they make some changes to the main image. Exaggeration not only makes choices, but also emphasizes, making the main image reasonable but unreasonable. There are many vivid examples of this technique in our country's folk paper-cutting, clay toys, shadow puppetry and foreign cartoon art. This technique of expression is full of romantic interest. The exaggeration of packaging pictures generally pays attention to the characteristics of cuteness, vividness and fun, and should not adopt the form of ugliness.

Exaggeration: Summary seeks clarity through simplification, while exaggeration seeks prominence through change. The biggest similarity between the two is to make some changes to the main image. Exaggeration not only makes choices, but also emphasizes, making the main image reasonable but unreasonable. There are many vivid examples of this technique in our country's folk paper-cutting, clay toys, shadow puppets and foreign cartoon art. This technique of expression is full of romantic interest. When exaggerating packaging pictures, we should generally pay attention to the characteristics of being cute, vivid, and interesting, and should not adopt the form of ugliness.

Close-up: This is a technique of making drastic changes and using part to express the whole, so that the characteristics of the subject can be expressed more concentratedly. Pay attention to the locality in the design.

2. Indirect expression

Indirect expression is a relatively intrinsic expression method. That is, the object itself does not appear on the screen, but the object is represented with the help of other related things. This technique has a broader expression, and is often used to express certain attributes, brands, ideas, etc. of the content.

As far as products are concerned, some things cannot be expressed directly. Such as perfume, wine, washing powder, etc. This requires indirect expression. At the same time many or in direct performance of the product. In order to obtain novel, unique, and varied performance effects, innovation and change are often sought from indirect expressions.

The techniques of indirect expression are metaphors, associations and symbols.

Metaphor: Metaphor is a method of comparing something with another thing, and it is a method of connecting one thing to another. The metaphor elements used must be specific things and specific images that most people understand in common. This is It requires designers to have relatively rich life knowledge and cultural accomplishment.

Association: The association method uses a certain image to guide the viewer's understanding in a certain direction, and the association generated by the viewer supplements things that are not directly explained on the picture. This is also a method of expression from some to that. When people look at a design wound, they don't just accept it visually, but will always have certain psychological activities. The awareness of certain psychological activities depends on the performance of the design, which is the psychological basis for the application of the association method. The media image used by association method is more flexible than metaphorical image. It can be concrete or abstract. Various concrete and abstract images can arouse certain associations in people. People can think of happiness from concrete flowers, frogs from tadpoles, Egypt from pyramids, autumn from fallen leaves, etc. You can also think of mountains and rivers from abstract wood grains, think of the sky and sea from horizontal lines, think of grasslands and forests from green, and think of passing time from flowing water. The ice flowers on the window will give people various associations.

Symbol: This is a transformation that combines metaphor and association. It is more abstract in its meaning and more condensed in its form. In packaging and decoration design, it is mainly used to express a certain meaning of a brand and the abstract attributes of a certain commodity based on the common understanding of most people.

The pictorial method is different from the metaphor and association methods, and is more rational and implicit. For example, the Great Wall and the Yellow River are used to symbolize the Chinese nation, the pyramids symbolize Egyptian antiquity and civilization, the maple leaves symbolize Canada, and so on. As a symbolic medium, the expression of meaning should have a kind of permanence that cannot be changed arbitrarily. In symbolic representation, the symbolic use of color is also important.

Decoration: In terms of indirect expression, some gift packaging often does not directly use metaphors, associations or symbolic techniques, but uses decorative techniques to express it. This kind of "decoration" should pay attention to a certain direction. Use this quality to guide the viewer's feelings.

4. Expression form

The form and technique of expression are all about solving the problem of how to express it. Form is an external weapon, a specific language for design expression, and a visual communication of design. . Consideration of the form of expression includes the following aspects:

How to design main charts and non-subject graphics; whether to use photos or paintings; concrete or abstract; realistic or freehand; induction or exaggeration; whether to use a certain form of craftsmanship; area How about the size etc.

What is the overall tone of the color? How to grasp the hue, brightness, and purity of each color block, how different color blocks relate to each other, how the area of ??different colors changes, etc.

How to design the font of the brand name and product name; what is the size of the font.

How to deal with the positioning and arrangement of the trademark, main text and main graphics; what is the mutual relationship between the shape, color and characters; what kind of arrangement is used to form it.

Whether auxiliary decorative treatments are needed; how to consider the use of gold, silver and changes in texture and texture, etc. These must be carefully considered during the entire formal consideration process.

Personal color in packaging design

Color is the most sensitive factor in visual performance. Color processing occupies a very important position in packaging design. The overall effect of color needs to be eye-catching and personalized, able to catch the attention of consumers, and produce different feelings through the symbolization of color to achieve its purpose.

In the visual expression of packaging design, the uniqueness and personality of color not only have independent connotations, but also reflect and combine with each other. Weakening the personalized expression of color style is tantamount to weakening the market competitiveness of its products. However, if the color expression of the product is deviated from the basis of the common understanding of most people, or it cannot arouse people's opinions that meet certain commercial purposes. Feeling that this kind of personality that is completely divorced from certain sexual requirements will not be successful no matter how unique it is. It must have a certain degree of uniqueness and typicality, as well as a unique and personalized color, so that this kind of packaging can remain invincible in the market competition.

The personality of packaging colors is reflected in the following aspects:

This is the biggest difference from general painting colors. All types of goods have certain unique attributes. Medical supplies and entertainment supplies, food and hardware supplies, cosmetics and cultural and educational supplies all have great differences in attributes. The same type of products can also be subdivided. For example, medical supplies include Chinese medicine, Western medicine, therapeutic medicine, tonic medicine, and general medicine. In this regard, color processing must be treated concretely, giving full play to the sensory elements of color (physical, physiological, psychological), and striving to express typical personality. For example, blue and green are used to represent the packaging colors of anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, and sedative drugs; red and brown are used to represent the packaging colors of nourishing drugs.

Due to the increasing variety of products and the increasingly fierce market competition, the visual performance of sales packaging is becoming increasingly important in advertising, of which color processing is of course an important aspect. The obscurity and implicitness of color effects have only negative effects, so attention must be paid to the clarity of the relationship between large color compositions. Such as "Fuji" film, the contrast between the large white and green and the bright red on the white background make the small film box still have a good advertising effect, and the white light maintains the attribute concept of the product. Another example: Coca-Cola's packaging image has become an international language. The bright red and white colors produce a strong advertising effect and at the same time express the performance of the product.

The colors in some packaging designs should be matched according to their attributes, but the colors in the picture are ordinary. Designers often do the opposite and use unconventional colors to make the packaging of their products more unique. Standing out among similar products, this color treatment makes our vision particularly sensitive and makes the impression more profound.

Fashionable colors are colors that are in line with the fashion of the times, that is, fashionable and fashionable colors. It is the information of product designers and the signal spread by international trade.

When a certain color trend is generalized, people feel that there is a lack of new stimulation and charm, and they need a different visual feature. This feature is imitated and becomes popular. The use of popular colors in modern packaging design has indeed brought more and more economic benefits to products, and the majority of far-sighted entrepreneurs attach great importance to the role of color. The fashion colors released by the International Fashion Color Association every year are proposed based on the international situation, market, economy and other characteristics of the times. The purpose is to give people a balance in the heart and atmosphere, thereby creating a harmonious and soft environment.

The psychological changes caused by color vision are very complex, and they vary depending on the era, region, or personal judgment. Various countries and ethnic groups have different color customs due to social background, economic status, living conditions, traditional habits, customs and natural environment.

For example: Our country has been fond of the color red since ancient times. From National Day and Spring Festival to personal weddings and birthdays, red is used to symbolize joy and auspiciousness. Red is mostly used in holiday gift packaging.

Yellow is the special color of my country’s feudal emperors, symbolizing sanctity, solemnity and authority. It represents the center. Used as food color in packaging, it gives people a rich, sweet and crispy feeling, and is a color that can arouse appetite.

Green is the color of vegetation in nature, the color of green life, symbolizing nature and growth. Green that is close to yellow expresses a sense of youth, symbolizing spring and growth; fresh green is the color of chlorophyll, which arouses appetite and symbolizes peace and security. The packaging color of tea is mostly green.

The meaning of blue is calm, long-lasting, calm, rational and profound, and it also represents the East.

In addition, some countries or regions have certain taboos on color. For example, France taboos dark green, which reminds people of Nazi military uniforms and disgusts them; people in desert areas are used to seeing wind, sky, and darkness. , the yellow sand is long, and we take yellow for granted. We can only encounter oasis after a difficult journey, and encounter the water, food and human society needed for survival, so we cherish green; the minarets of Islamic teachings and the flag of the Arab nation are all Decorated and symbolized in their cherished green color, yellow is taboo. Therefore, we should understand the preferences and taboos of colors in various countries and regions. In particular, the color processing on the packaging of import and export commodities should be suitable for national conditions to improve the competitiveness of products in the international market.

Nowadays, the depth, breadth, and persistence of market competition are unprecedented, whether it is comprehensive long-term planning or seizing the opportunity. Make a prompt decision and act based on whether it has "residual value" for the enterprise. Fierce market competition has promoted the development of production and consumption, and at the same time inevitably promoted the update of corporate marketing strategies, of which packaging is of course placed in an important position. The commerciality, advertising, uniqueness and nationality of color application are the embodiment of packaging personalization. The personality of color will inevitably enhance the visual impact of packaging, play a role in promotion, and greatly improve the market competitiveness of its products.

Cultural Concepts of Modern Packaging Design

The famous cultural anthropologist Malinlovsky once said: “In human social life, the needs of all living things have been transformed into cultural needs. Need. "Modern packaging design is a design discipline that is culture-based, life-based, and modern-oriented. Therefore, we should treat packaging design as a cultural form, both in theory and in practice.

Packaging design cultural structure level

Culture is the sum of material wealth and spiritual wealth created in the process of human historical practice. So, can packaging design culture be said to include all people’s behaviors? Ways and things created to satisfy these behavioral patterns, and the psychological concepts formed based on these aspects? Generally speaking, these composite wholes composed of many design cultural elements can be divided into three levels.

First, the material layer of packaging design, which is the surface layer of design culture, mainly refers to the material carrier that contains the elements of design culture. It has the characteristics of materiality, basicity, and variability. Such as various packaging design departments and packaging design products, places for exchanging goods, and consumers’ consumption behavior in using packaging products, etc.

Second, the organizational system layer of packaging design is the middle layer of design culture and the materialization of the inner layer of design culture. It has strong characteristics of the times and continuity. It mainly includes the organizational system for coordinating the relationship between various elements of the design system, standardizing design behavior, and judging and correcting design. Countries with relatively advanced packaging design culture in the world have their own relatively complete organizational systems. In countries with relatively backward packaging design culture, most of the organizational systems are incomplete. They exist scattered in other organizational systems such as policy, economy, culture and law, and do not have a sound independent system and status. Without this level, the designed individuals will be in disorder.

Third, the conceptual layer of packaging design. It is a cultural psychological state that is at the core and dominant position and is the basis and basis for all activities of all elements of the design system. The development of science and technology, the improvement of productivity and the progress of culture have brought impact on packaging design culture, which is mainly reflected in the aspects of production and life concepts, values, thinking concepts, aesthetic concepts, moral and ethical concepts, national psychological concepts, etc. . It is the most stable part of the design culture structure and the soul of design culture. It exists in people's hearts. If it develops and changes, it will eventually be expressed directly or indirectly at the organizational system level, and thereby stipulate its own development and rules, absorb, develop or reject heterogeneous cultural elements, and influence the shape of design culture. development trends.

The three aspects of the cultural structure of packaging design are related to each other and form a system, constituting the organic whole of packaging design culture. The material layer of packaging design culture is the most active factor. It changes actively and communicates easily and frequently. At the same time, the changes and development of packaging design culture are always reflected in itself first. For example, my country's reform and opening up, learning from foreign advanced science, culture and technology, and the infiltration of decorations are playing a leading role in this cultural shock.

In the market, product packaging is constantly updated and updated. The organizational system is the most authoritative factor. It stipulates the overall nature of packaging design culture, is an important link to maintain intergroup relations in design, and is the guarantee for the scientific and effective implementation of packaging design. This level is composed of a set of internal system of principles, which becomes the criterion for packaging designers to engage in design activities. Furthermore, the inner layer of psychological consciousness is relatively conservative and stable, and is the core of design culture

. Different design concepts will bring different behavioral patterns and social results. Recognizing the new requirements imposed on us by the new environment and mastering new ideas, new concepts and new methods that meet such new requirements are the new aspects of design concepts. high. The three are interdependent, combined, and interpenetrated, and their integration is reflected in every specific packaging design activity and design work.

The nationality and contemporary nature of packaging design culture

The elements of packaging culture spread in time and space. Because culture exists in a certain space, that is, it is inevitable that it is related to people in a certain society, the national character of packaging design culture is born; because culture exists in a certain time, that is, it is inevitable that it is related to certain social and historical changes, the era of packaging design culture is born. sex. Nationality and contemporary nature constitute the social attributes and essential attributes of packaging design culture.

The national character of packaging design culture involves the genetics of culture. Precisely because the cultures of the world do not come from the same source, of course there are issues of nationality.

The national character of packaging design culture is mainly reflected in the conceptual level of packaging design cultural structure, which reflects the psychological independence of the entire nation. Different nationalities and different environments create different cultural concepts, which are directly and indirectly reflected in their design activities and products. For example, the scientific, logical and rigorous and rational style of German design, the novel, smart, frivolous and humane characteristics of Japanese design, and the elegance and romantic sentiment of Italian design are all born from the cultures of their different nations. in an atmosphere of ideas. The smoothness, perfection, meaning and formal integrity and symmetry of Chinese packaging design style are also reflections of the introverted psychological characteristics and relatively conservative social consciousness of the Chinese people.

Because the design organization system is born out of the concept of design consciousness, is the materialization of design consciousness, and is derived from the national design consciousness, so it is also covered with the activities and practical results guided by people's design concepts. They have different national colors and are marked with national character.

Of course, the national character of packaging design culture is not only stable and conservative. It develops with the changes in social life and social concepts in the unity of opposites with the times. It is constantly updating and developing its own characteristics in the unity of its own opposites. Therefore, we must not be constrained by self-centered consciousness and embark on the path of national localization; otherwise, we will definitely be in a state of limbo.

Packaging design culture is both national and contemporary.

After the formation of a national unity, a long and tortuous historical development process has formed. At different stages of this historical process, the national culture will show a series of characteristics of the times. As long as we recognize the continuity and development of packaging design culture, packaging design culture will exist of its time. This is because packaging design culture is first of all a process of historical development. It is the superposition and inheritance of the design culture of various eras of the nation. It is based on the realistic material society of that era and is the accumulation and continuous sublation of traditional design culture. The unity of opposites, the unity of opposites between history and reality.

Packaging design culture has its own contemporary characteristics, which is mainly reflected in the organizational system and material outer layer of packaging design culture. But design follows the times and focuses on concepts. Today, with economic globalization and the rapid development of science and technology, social subjective forms have undergone fundamental changes. In particular, the extensive and high-speed dissemination of information, the increasingly fierce agitation of open ideas, the diversification of social structures, values, and aesthetic concepts, the frequent interactions between people, the increasing demands of society and people, and the alienation of industrial culture. energy, environmental and ecological crises. Faced with all this, can we adapt to it and make use of it to make packaging design a product of the times? This has become an important task for designers today.

The contemporary characteristics of packaging design culture naturally prevent our design activities and products from being measured by an absolute standard. Different eras have their own standards. Today’s or yesterday’s standards cannot be regarded as the absolute and only standards. When judging historical design culture, we must realize that it is historical in itself, and the packaging design culture of each era has its own characteristics. Absolute content has its own conceptual system, its own historical development status, and the imprint of this era, so it has the limitations of the era accordingly. Without these understandings, we cannot have a comprehensive grasp of the contemporary nature of packaging design culture.

The nationality and contemporary nature of packaging design culture are both content and form. These two basic attributes are at the three levels of the cultural structure of packaging design. Generally speaking, the material level is more contemporary and therefore the most active factor and the most easily accepted and popular by people. The psychological level has a strong national character, is relatively stable and conservative, and therefore changes slowly. When two heterogeneous packaging design cultures come into contact under equal or unequal conditions, the first thing that is discovered by each other is mostly the outer layer of matter. After getting used to it for a long time, they can gradually recognize the middle layer. That is, the level of theoretical organization and institutional level. Finally, only then can we appreciate their respective core levels, that is, the level of psychological concepts.

The development of Japan's post-war packaging industry, as well as the introduction of material technology and equipment in my country's packaging industry since the reform and opening up, to the introduction of various advanced organizational management systems, to the penetration of modern packaging design concepts, illustrate this point.

The formation and development of nationality are mostly based on fashion. The nationality of packaging design culture means the choice of the times. In terms of the value orientation of dealing with traditional cultural issues, inheritance is the origin and transcendence should be its direction. Designers must clearly understand the surrounding world and its development trends, and at the same time see the close relationship between design and various disciplines, so as to consciously update and expand our knowledge, break away from the shackles of traditional concepts, and promote the renewal and development of packaging design culture.

The packaging design culture of each nation forms a design culture system, and the packaging design culture of each nation in a certain era also forms its own cultural system. Different packaging design cultural systems contain some of the same cultural factors, as well as some different cultural factors. The former shows the universality of packaging design culture, while the latter shows the particularity of packaging design culture. And the packaging design culture of every nation has its human part. The human nature of packaging design resides in the national character, and the universality resides in the particularity. This is a dialectically unified cultural view of packaging design.

Our country’s packaging design, whether it is the way of thinking, value judgment, social organization, design methods, design forms and many other aspects, should continue to absorb and update in many aspects with the advancement of the times. In order to establish and improve a new packaging design cultural system that is both national and contemporary. This is the requirement of the times and the inevitability of history. It is the key to my country's packaging design level being among the most advanced in the world.