THE AUTHORS
7. Seeing the pack out of context.
It’s easy to forget that our designs are heading for
the big, wide world out there. They live in a consumer
environment crowded to within a hair’s breadth with
other people’s designs. It’s in store, in a shop, not
sitting pretty on a white backdrop. It’s also taken
home, held in the hand. It serves a purpose and has
a journey from purchase to disposal. Successful
designs consider the entire process and use it to
their benefit. Be aware of what’s out there—visualize
it in its future environment, consider its function—
and you’ll end up with something that has difference.
8. Designing for awards.
Designing for designer’s sake, purely for awards, is
really tough. We all love a bit of industry recognition,
but focusing on this rather than the brief in hand
never seems to get great results. Try not to put that
pressure on yourself. Turn that drive toward the job
in hand, try to create the most innovative solution for
that category or problem, and the awards should take
care of themselves.
9. Knowing which battles to lose in order to win the war.
It’s a subjective industry, and clients are rarely
visually literate. Sometimes it can feel like a constant
battle to get the right results through. Remember,
the secret is knowing which fights to pick. Getting
precious about kerning on the subsidiary copy or
angering a client who is stubbornly attached to pink
is never going to get the bigger concept across, and
sometimes you have to lose a few soldiers in order to
win the war. Being able to compromise shows open-
mindedness and builds trust with clients. It’s difficult,
but try to step back from the job, focus on what really
constitutes the big idea, then figure out what can be
sacrificed in order to get a great result, even if that
kerning makes you wince.
10. Taking yourself too seriously.
This might upset some people, but what we do really
isn’t rocket science. We’re designing for a business
and a consumer, not for ourselves. We’re privileged
to be paid to happily do what we love, which—let’s
face it—in the long term will be redesigned, and in
the short term ends up straight in the bin. If you can’t
have a bit of fun, take criticism objectively, and keep
getting excited about briefs, then you’re destined
either for burnout or for unbearable conceit. (By the
way, I will be signing autographs…if you’re lucky.)
World traveler Bronwen Edwards is half Welsh but was born
in Belgium and spent her childhood in Istanbul. After art
school, she went directly to Coley Porter Bell, a design firm
in London, and is currently an award-winning designer at
Brandhouse. She has a penchant for vintage clothing and
wants to own a sloth one day—they’re good for the humor,
she says. Her 2008 photography exhibition, New Dawn—
a collection of portraits of Ethiopia—was attended by the
Ethiopian ambassador. She lectures for design courses
and blogs for the top-rated packaging design blog
TheDieline.com. Bronwen is 6’2” in heels, and, she claims,
over 7’ on a ladder.
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THE AUTHORS
Defi ning Excellence in Package Design
Really good design
leads to behavioral
changes. It opens up the
door of experience and
opportunity for those
who come into contact
with it. Stimulation,
mood alteration, mental
transformation, and even
education all happen
when encountering really
good design.
Excellence in packaging design can be defi ned in a variety of ways.
This is, after all, a service business. Thus, translating a design
strategy into one that can be processed, produced, and profi table;
that is eco-friendly, innovative, and marketable; that represents
quality, safety, protection, function, reliability, effectiveness; and
that is cogent, attention-grabbing, and appealing makes really
good design that much more laudable.
The great majority of packaging designs are the culmination
of designers’ work for clients. Each project within this book
refl ects a long series of inspirations, compromises, directions,
and—ultimately—decisions. Few designers are left to their own
accord. In fact, I imagine many submissions for this book would
look signifi cantly different had the designers been their own
clients. Budget constraints, production limitations, and marketing
parameters greatly limit a designer’s creative freedom. When the
result of a design project refl ects an outstanding design team’s
optimal solution, something signifi cant is achieved.
Although what constitutes really good packaging design may be
a matter of personal opinion, there is no denying that achieving
such excellence does not happen by accident. It takes countless
concepts, strategies, insights, rigor, and the collaborative efforts
of a vast variety of professionals. Clearly, there is not one core
philosophy, process, or recipe. But achieving a high level of
success in a design, I believe, is most often the result of a clear
methodology that focuses on the end consumer. It requires
professionals to be open to constructive criticism, varying
concepts, immense challenges, and new approaches.
I have spent countless years in this profession—and, in fact, most
of my life—“looking at what’s out there,” and I remain in awe of
the ever-increasing quantity of outstanding packaging design. I get
enormous satisfaction when I stumble upon an outstanding design
in the retail world.
What makes this book so exciting is that we are able to experience,
within these pages, the vast beauty that is out there. Although it
may not be on our own store shelves, here, within these pages, it
is at our fi ngertips. We can travel the globe—or our own country—
within these pages. We can celebrate the strategies, decision-
making processes, and production efforts that fostered these
outcomes. We can be inspired by this collection of really good
packaging designs but—most importantly—we can glean unbiased
assessments of their qualities and characteristics.
There is much to be gained from the critiques within and from
the different perspectives of design professionals. They serve
to provide diverse observations and new understanding. There
are many exciting design discoveries throughout these pages,
but perhaps it is the total package—one that represents a global
profession that has effectively raised the cultural aesthetic—
that is the most signifi cant celebration.
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really good packagINg explaINed
A
Q
&
My favorite package designs inside this book are…
Bootleg/Turner Duckworth (page 133). I’m not sure
if this design classifi es as a double entendre or if
there can be such a thing as a triple entendre, but
nonetheless it is exceptionally rare to fi nd a packaging
design that is clever on so many levels. I visualize a
pretty fun brainstorming session…Italian = country
shaped in a boot, fashion design, wine, fabulous
designer shoes, avant-garde style, leather, zip-up
boots…you get the picture. The outcome is magnifi co!
Domaine De Canton/Mucca Design (page 115). An
instant icon! The architecture and luminescence
of this bottle is stunning! Every detail is handled
perfectly, from the line weights, the typefaces,
leading, kerning, and dingbats to the slight label-
shape detail. Decorative, simple, elegant, modern yet
classic, and defi nitely transporting…should I go on?
You know a package design is really good when…
There is no simple answer and no established
measure to tell you if your packaging design is
good. Being a designer today means having well-
honed critical-thinking skills. In a world of tastes,
perceptions, values, and expectations that are
changing faster than ever, you realize that even with
all the necessary skills, producing something that
is really good is extremely diffi cult. There are basic
criteria for “good,” but even if you had a checklist, it
would not guarantee a successful end result.
Good package design goes beyond strategic problem
solving and beyond being straightforward, inoffensive,
innovative, recognizable, comprehensible, trustworthy,
truthful, or sustainable. Good packaging design
is distinguished by emotional reaction or perhaps
emotion in action, since this ultimately drives results
and perhaps even inspires. However, once a design
induces that connection, the relationship between
good packaging design and the audience won’t last
unless the design also functions, protects, preserves,
transports, and informs.
Designers often choose attractiveness or physical
appearance over a conceptualized strategy to problem
solving. Really good design takes time to build and
can rarely be identifi ed without a serious commitment
to a well-conceived design process. Good design has
resonance, commands attention, and may not actually
be perfect—but good design is lasting.
with Marianne Klimchuk
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THE AUTHORS
with Marianne Klimchuk
The best thing a client ever said to me was…
We have had a very successful end to our fi scal year.
Thank you.”
And the worst …
It’s a really good idea but just not for us.”
For creative inspiration, I…
teach design in New York City. I experience the
endless sense of wonder, the breadth of imagination
and fountains of ideas that come from fresh minds,
the freedom of experimentation unconfi ned by clients
or real-world restrictions, and the energy that comes
in rooms full of creative minds working together to
achieve their best. Every week I encounter amazing
concepts, incredible talents, inspiring uses of
materials, technology, typography, and resources.
When it’s not happening in the halls of academia,
there are few places in the world with the diversity,
energy, and stimulation of New York City.
Outside of that, raising two teenagers keeps me
ever-so stimulated, and escaping to the Berkshires
allows me to quiet my mind and be inspired by
nature.
AUTHOR’S
CHOICE
AWARD
The smartest thing I ever heard anyone say about
package design is…
A designer knows he has achieved perfection not
when there is nothing left to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.” –Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The best career advice I ever received was…
The best career advice came not verbally, but from
living with and watching two exceptional individuals
and highly successful professionals—my parents.
They said: “Find what you love to do and then do what
you love.”
The next inspiring advice was derived from reading
Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford.
Most designers probably don’t know that…
Creative thinking is a muscle. The more you use
it, the more you build it. It needs to be exercised
regularly.
Age brings experience, but not necessarily wisdom.
There is much to be learned from people who
challenge convention or see the world from a
different perspective.
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