Packaging & Merchandising Design - Project 1

Edita Chew En Thung / 0357357

Packaging Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Project 1

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Table of Content

1. INSTRUCTIONS

2. IDEATION & PROCESS
3. FINAL

4. FEEDBACK

5. REFLECTION

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INSTRUCTIONS

fig 1.0 | Module Information Booklet (MIB)

Designing Custom Boxes for Non-Boxed Items  The objective of this assignment is to develop your skills in creating custom packaging solutions for items that do not come in traditional box packaging. By the end of this assignment, we should be able to demonstrate your ability to design functional, creative, and visually appealing boxes that enhance the packaging and presentation of non-boxed items.

IDEATION & PROCESS

Ideation Process #1

The items I chose as the non-box items were a shirt and pens. I made the sketches for the shirt with the initial idea of a "gifting" type of box with a tinge of Chinese heritage sense. It had a folding mechanism to fold the shirt as a gift or a organiser, but in the end I wanted to prioritise ease and space rationalisation in order to keep and organise the packaging with comfort, and ease. the repurpose idea is to keep the shirt(s) in a compact space to save space.

Then I started sketching the second item(s), pens. The initial idea was to have a pencil case structure so that it can be reused as a pencil case, so that the repurposed value is still applied. Then the cigarette-like box came to mind, but I believe it was too simple and boring, but I left it there to marinate before jumping into designing again.

Redesigns:

Redesign of the redesign

Design 1

Then I redesigned the 1st packaging to a more convenient and compact type of design. It would be more easy to store and arrange, since its shaped in a triangular box, and stackable too.

Then I decided to change another approach as it's more convenient to carry around and flatter.

Design 2

I also redesigned the pencil box into a 2 in 1 use, pen holder and casing as the repurposed idea, fully utilising the box to its potential as a pen case and holder.

PROTOTYPE Design #1 (1st trial):

It works but it needed tweaking, so I changed and redesigned something more reliable and portable.

PROTOTYPE Design #1 (2nd trial) (redesign):

I changed the design #1 to a brief case-like to it's able to maintain a flat folded shirt. Its a good way to carry around shirts that it's just bought from stores as it's sturdy and won't crumple newly bought shirts.

the buckle of the packaging was too far, so i had to redesign it to fit it like the image, where I just carve them out, so I properly laser-cut it after I'm done tweaking it.

doesnt require glue, just buckle.

PROTOTYPE Design #2 (1st trial):

I first designed the dieline and made the first prototype, it didn't quiet fit as designed, so I tweaked it once more and finally got the right fitting for thin paper/material.

PROTOTYPE Design #2 (2nd trial):

Prototype after laser-cut:

After using the laser-cut machine, I realised the folding a little off, so I began to tweak it to better fit the corrugated cardboard as intended.

I realised that if I want to fasten the locks better using corrugated cardboard, I would not need to cut the hole out fully as folding would achieve a fold that will lock the buckle better as the corrugated cardboard has a semi-hollow space in between, so therefore using the laser-cut machine, I removed the end parts that were to cut the holes out and replaced them as lines instead of the full shape to cut.

FINAL

BOX #1

This box packaging acts as a pencil case and a pen holder

BOX #2

This is the final for the box of a shirt.

FEEDBACK

- The designs are quite okay, proceed with what I have first.

- It's a better design now, since the first 2 designs were basic, it's good that you have something new and since you tried prototyping, and it works, so go for it.

REFLECTION

Findings

The Module showed me how effective communication strategies help display design ideas, product concepts, and the final outcomes. No matter if I collaborated with others or worked alone, I noticed that clearly breaking down and explaining the practical and conceptual parts of my designs were vital for others to agree with my suggestions. I found out that packaging does more than look nice; it greatly impacts how customers use and think about a product.

I utilised brainstorming, making sketches and mind mapping to produce different design ideas. I checked each prototype by testing it and reviewing the feedback to see if it was smooth, attractive, and matched the brand’s style. As a result of this process, I understood how small adjustments can change the whole outcome of packaging.

Observations

It seemed that the way people communicated affected how successful the group project turned out. Sharing what each team member was responsible for and what needed to be achieved made the teams more effective. As a result, communication issues resulted in projects being delayed and confusing for everyone. I found that during critique meetings with my peers and users, I received useful tips on how others experience and use the designs, so I could adjust them to their needs.

I noticed that the best results in packaging were achieved by finding an equilibrium between new ideas and what works in the real world. Even though a few ideas looked strong on paper, they fell short in practical issues such as durability, how much they cost to produce, or how simple they were to use. By looking at these factors in the beginning, I managed to save my time and start looking for other answers.