Brief 2 - Packaging Plans

Today Charlie & I met to begin the practical work on this brief. As previously discussed, we finalised our products and packaging.

Notes previously made on packaging:

Finalised Packaging

• Truffle Jar - Glass & vinyl label
• Gift box 1 - 3 bars of chocolate - white, milk, dark - foil & wrap + box
• Gift box 2 - 9 flavoured bars - foil & wrap + box
• Hot chocolate Jar - Glass & vinyl label/tin + wrap

We then discussed the format of the packaging for the boxes as these will be a big part of the brief. At this point we have two ideas for them. We want a consistent design, but like the idea of having two different styles of packaging.

For the first gift box of three, we are wanting to move forward with having a wide box where the bars are side by side.

For the second gift box of nine, we liked the idea of them being stacked and a window in the front so you are able to see all the flavours. The top will be solid and lift up to reveal the window in the bottom half of the box.

We want to do these boxes in dark brown card to follow the branding colours. We want the packaging to be very plain and simple with the logo foiled onto the top. We will use a wrap around each of the boxes to display the product information.

Packaging format initial ideas:

Following this we decided to start with the chocolate bars themselves and went through the different flavours we could have.

We settled on the following twelve:

For the 9 bar gift box we thought it would be good to have three bars from each of the three chocolate types so it creates a good range.

A big discussion we had was about the differentiation between the different flavours. We wanted them all to have their own individual colour, but showing this on the packaging is something that we took a long time to decide on.

Our original idea was to maybe foil the flavour name onto the wrap, however we felt this might not work too well as we might not be able to find the range in foils that we want. With this, we also though we could have the foil wrapped around the chocolate in this colour as well. This would create a very obvious visual differentiation between the flavours.

Our second idea was built on the back of the first, where instead of foil, we would just print each colour. It is simpler and would mean that we would be able to have the exact colours we wanted.

When it came to the actual packaging for the bars our original idea was to use foil and a contrasting wrap with all the information. When we went to the shops to look for the bars which we wanted to use, we found a wide range of packaging ideas, which sparked another conversation about how we wanted to move forward.

From this, we decided that instead of foil and a wrap, we wanted to create a full box for each bar. Seeing it in the shops showed us how good this could look, and it definitely stood out from all of those wrapped in plastic or in wraps. We think that it will work well with our brand as it shows a bit of care into each bar with them all being boxed individually. Within these boxes, each chocolate bar would be wrapped in foil as well.

As shown in the image above, the chocolate bar size we decided to go on was 160x90mm. We felt that this was a really good sized bar as it's not huge, but not too small, and would be a good size for a gift box.

Colours

Following the decision on the packaging, we moved onto choosing the colours for each of the flavours. Individually we chose colours we thought best suited the flavours, and then regrouped to look at what we had come up with.

We agreed that the colours needed a clear difference from one another, and definitely had to have a sophisticated look, so nothing too bright. They had to work as a set as well.

Overall we had very similar colours and went about editing them down to the twelve which we decided were the best ones.

Final Colours:

Overall we are really happy with the twelve colours. They're a range, but also work well together in terms of the tone of them all.


Packaging

While doing the colours we also started working on the packaging for the bars. The whole brand image is to be sophisticated and simple, with nothing unnecessary.

We decided that the best way to move forward on this was to work individually so we got a range of ideas and designs before editing these down to the final designs. Before doing this we discussed the general appearance that we wanted - the logo at the top, flavour in the middle, and weight at the bottom.

We presented our designs to one another and found that our designs were very similar and moving in the same direction. We decided that my fifth design was the idea we wanted to move forward with.

We were initially a little wary due to the fact that the logo was broken up, however we felt that the ones with the full logo just weren't working as well, and we really liked the idea of having the large bean that changed colour depending on the flavour. Having the full logo on as well as this is something that we decided against because it seemed like a bit of an overkill.

With this decided design, we then went about creating the net for the entire box. To keep the front looking perfect, the tabs are connected to be glued ono the back.

When I started to produce the net, we spoke about what we wanted on the back, and we agreed that we wanted it quite plain with little information aside from the product name and information. In creating the net, I placed the coloured cocoa bean circle on the back at a smaller scale with the intention of having it there to show the colour and flavour reference, however we liked the idea of the top half the circle being cut along so the top flap would slot in there.

Once the net was created we one again spoke about the content to go on the back. We decided on two sections - the first a small description about the product, and the second being a bit about the brand and our dedication to the customers. We felt that this was a small element that added a bit more care and consideration into how the brand would be put across and perceived by the customers.

While I continued to work on the design and create the variations for each flavour, Charlie wrote a short product description for each flavour, as well as the brand statement to be put on the back.

Completed body copy:

Completed package: