NOT JUST A PRETTY FAÇADE
If you thought that package design was just about images, shapes, colours and catchy descriptions, think again.
As it is linked to practically all other industries, packaging is everywhere. It touches almost every person on the planet and affects things that are of vital importance to us such as food safety and personal health. Packaging choices have a major impact on the amount of waste produced globally, not to mention the added value and competitive edge well-thought-out package design can bring to businesses and brands.
In order to achieve sustainable change, it is extremely important to consider the user perspective. After all, over-consumption is at the root of the planet’s environmental crisis. Package design plays a major role when people are weighing up price, convenience, values, peer pressure and the emotional appeal of their purchases. Design can be used to nudge consumer behaviour towards more sustainable practices.
Packaging stands at the intersection of many of Aalto University’s key disciplines, such as design, business and marketing, engineering, material research and visual communication. That’s why we take package design very seriously.
Images: Paper packaging prototype by Oleg Galkin (top image)
Paper structural folding techniques by Miia Palmu. Photos: Valeria Azovskaya
PACK-AGE
Pack-Age is a transdisciplinary project course that offers a holistic understanding of package design, including various perspectives on strategy, branding, production, consumer retail, and user experience. Pack-Age student team Ia Ahl, Ella Eskola, Senja Käkelä and Anniina Lensu created a special package design for this online exhibition.
Their package takes the form of a frame, a symbol for art. It conveys the message that each item of clothing should be respected and cherished for a long time. The package is made of a wood-based material, that is sustainable but also sturdy. The package can be used to store a special garment or to present it to its next wearer. Eventually, at the end of its useful life cycle, the package can be recycled.
The visual identity of the package takes its cue from blue and white as well as thin lines and stripes. The colours are a reference to Finland and Aalto University, and the stripes are a symbol of flow in closed loops as well as the process of creating new textile fibres, such as Ioncell®, an Aalto innovation.
With great package design it is possible to encourage people to consume consciously, and, in this case, to re-think their own wardrobes sustainably.
Package design & photos: Team Ioncell. The prototype package was created in collaboration with Hakakansio, Grano & Paptic.
Pack-Age is run by Markus Joutsela, Lecturer in Visual Communication Design at Aalto. Read more.
Built with Shorthand