#Packaging_design #Art_direction #Graphic_design


CLIENT
ICA Sverige AB.

MISSION
Create a design concept for packaging ICAs vegan and vegetarian products. The assignment included new products, redesign of existing products and future releases. In total about 100 products to be released during the coming years.

The design solution had to allow for a number of sub-categories and USPs, for instance, frozen foods, chilled foods, co-branding, origin and vegan/vegetarian. All in need of unique characteristics to stand out from the others while still functioning as one uniform design.

The design was to focus on the rich taste of the products themselves, alternatively dishes that can be created with those products. It should also have a modern and contemporary look. The primary target market was young people living in bigger cities. The information on whether a product is vegan or vegetarian had to be easily accessible.

The job included many types of packaging with different ratios such as large boxes, square cartons, oblong bags, and tiny labels. The final concept also had to be able to communicate through other mediums than packaging.

DESIGN PROCESS
I started off by doing extensive market research by taking pictures in every store that was selling any kind of vegan or vegetarian products. These pictures were mostly of food packaging but also of interior design, logos, patterns, and other inspiring objects. Colleagues also sent me pictures from other cities and even from abroad. I then delved into a large number of blogs, magazines and inspiring web sites.

I sorted all findings into categories looking at how other brands communicated various USPs, eventually ending up with several clusters. The clusters evolved into "worlds" which differed from each other, yet they were all relevant to the brief. The project had several clients, all with different and sometimes contradicting wishes and demands. Meeting these demands while coming up with a uniform design provided a challenge at times. The worlds acted as a basis for discussions with the clients. We examined strategic questions like; in which way do we want to stand out from competitors? How edgy do we want the design to look? Should it be dark or bright? If we use patterns, what kind?

Only now I started sketching out ideas and coming up with concrete suggestions on designs.

OUTCOME
I created a design that is easily recognized in the stores. The black and white patterns and the brush stroke typography holds the concept together and stand out effectively against competitors. I developed a palette of colors and patterns that allow products within the same range to differ from each other.

The white backgrounds of the bags really stand out in the freezers and the photo depicts an explosion of taste. The colored backgrounds and how the patterns are placed give the chilled foods a slightly different look, yet these products are easily recognized as being part of the same design.

Whether a product is vegan or vegetarian is always clearly stated on the black tags. The concept also works for co-branding, see the example from Oumph.