http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/natural-fantasy
Tess Wicksteed, a ‘brand strategist’ at design agency Pearlfisher says: ‘The role of food packaging is to make the food look real and fresh.’ But the essential dilemma is that a food product that requires packaging is at odds with the very idea of freshness. Wicksteed continues: ‘Organic food was able to command this incredible price point, and all the mass-market brands got very jealous. They realised people wanted to feel connected to their food. So [they said to themselves] “how can we pretend to be organic, or take some of the organic cues?” And that’s when companies started using words like “real” and “honest”.’ [1]
Image and colour
Illustration plays a significant role in packaging design because the places that are pictured may not exist to be photographed. Certain types of architecture feature prominently, such as a red barn on a dairy product, or a château on a wine label, and these sell a sense of place, whether real or imagined. Designers will also opt for faux woodcarving, etching or letterpress styles to add a double layer of tradition and nostalgia.
Illustration plays a significant role in packaging design because the places that are pictured may not exist to be photographed. Certain types of architecture feature prominently, such as a red barn on a dairy product, or a château on a wine label, and these sell a sense of place, whether real or imagined. Designers will also opt for faux woodcarving, etching or letterpress styles to add a double layer of tradition and nostalgia.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup had its first significant packaging redesign in 65 years.
Ray Armes, who undertook the Heinz Tomato Ketchup redesign while working at London-based branding firm Vibrant, says, ‘The whole reason we had to do a redesign in the United Kingdom was that ketchup was one of the foods that was highlighted that had too much sugar and salt for kids, so mothers started to move away from the product.’ To detract from the negative publicity, Armes spearheaded a new brand strategy for Heinz in the UK that tried ‘to eliminate the negatives and highlight the positives,’ as well as ‘eliminate the perception of too much sugar and salt’.
In 2008, Vibrant began an in-depth research project and discovered that Heinz grew its own tomatoes. This became the story that gave rise to the new slogan ‘Grown not made’. The new label design introduced the image of a tomato on the vine and the word ‘tomato’ was enlarged for emphasis. The thin green outline was also changed to a more natural-looking green. ‘We’re great believers in semiotics,’ says Armes. ‘If you’ve got an artificial green, the consumer’s mind will tell them it’s an artificial product.’[4This new nostalgia, however, has a thoroughly modern cast. We still want our food to be convenient, even if it is wrapped in something that harks back to simpler times. For many people, the shopping experience is increasingly perplexing and emotional, with a conflict between health concerns and a desire for the speed and ease that processed food provides. Food packaging helps alleviate some of this tension by equating the processed product with its fresh counterpart through images of nature, thereby making the two feel less distant from each other. Siobhan Lonergan, senior vice-president of Design Intelligence at Sterling Brands, puts it simply, saying that packaging design is ‘all about making people feel better about their choices’.[10]
The words used on the packaging are also significant. Naming conventions such as ‘Farm’, ‘Market’ and ‘Valley’ are becoming increasingly common, as new products launch, or existing products reintroduce the terms. The supermarket chain Marks & Spencer [M&S] took this idea one step further with the creation of their ‘Lochmuir’ salmon in 2006. There is no such place – Lochmuir is simply the name that has the ‘most Scottish resonance’, according to M&S fish expert Andrew Mallinson.
This new nostalgia, however, has a thoroughly modern cast. We still want our food to be convenient, even if it is wrapped in something that harks back to simpler times. For many people, the shopping experience is increasingly perplexing and emotional, with a conflict between health concerns and a desire for the speed and ease that processed food provides. Food packaging helps alleviate some of this tension by equating the processed product with its fresh counterpart through images of nature, thereby making the two feel less distant from each other. Siobhan Lonergan, senior vice-president of Design Intelligence at Sterling Brands, puts it simply, saying that packaging design is ‘all about making people feel better about their choices’.[10]
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