As previously promised, I will now discuss packaging as designed by Celery Design Collaborative. To start, it's all about the branding. Package design and layout tells a consumer everything they need to know about the product inside. Basic information... What is it? Who makes it? Are there any dangerous or pre-cautions? Exactly how will the product add to or detract from daily life? And most importantly, what does buying this product say about me as a consumer: elegant, masculine, wise, green, healthy, happy, etc. Packaging isn't just about what's inside.
A package tells the consumer about who they are... or at least who they THINK they are or would like to be. Enter lemnis lighting. These are not your ordinary CFL lightbulbs. These guys use LED technology, mercury free, and last an average of THIRTY-FIVE years. Nice. They are $25 each. Not so nice. But Celery Design Collaborative decided that for $25, your not just spending less than a dollar year on a healthy lightbulb. Special lighting deserves extra special packaging. Consumers need some instant gratification [it's nice to know you won't have to change the light for as long as you live in the house, but thirty-five years is a long time to wait]. So they decided to create more than a box. This high-tech lightbulb comes in a box that tells you what you're getting and also folds into an icredibly cool lampshade. Bonus!
What they tapped into was more tha packaging for the sake of standing out on the shelf. They are creating a whole new kind of brand loyalty. Buying this green bulb isn't just about going green. Go green with style. You're not just part of a fad movement when you buy these lightbulbs. You are showing that you are also aesthetically driven. [Who wants to be a granola munching tree hugger with no taste?]
What I love about this example is that it also discusses the ethics of packaging. It's a necessity. Every company takes advantage of the opportunity to brand and advertise wiht their packaging, but not we are seeing more responsibility. Lush cosmetics come in little yellow bags that say "Is there life after this?" They answer their own question with suggestions on how to best recycle the bags such as putting them on your compost pile in the garden or placing them in your sock drawer to act as a freshner since they smell like the yummy organic soaps they've been wrapping. Waste not, want not.
It's important as designers that we recognize everything not for the obvious... but for the potential. Packaging isn't just another surface to design and sell a story. Packaging is an opportunity to enhance the quality and the value of a product. Give the consumer the gift of sustainable design that adds to their life and helps them achieve something new.
