OUGD603 EXTENDED PRACTICE: NOOTROPICS - NET INITIAL IDEAS & DEVELOPMENT

When it came to planning out what to include on the rest of the box, I started off by making a miniature mock up box to visualise what it will actually look like. This was really helpful to see what the kind of space was available for me to play with, and gave me an idea of the sizing of the content as well.

Mock up #1

From this mock up I was then able to decide on how much space I'd have available, and what I will be able to fit in in the space available. I then created sketches for each side of the box for alternative layouts, using the primary research I conducted as a guide as to what content should be included.

On this page I created layouts for the back and top sides of the box.

On this page I developed ideas for the bottom side, the flap which secures the lid down, as I thought it might be quite playful to include a small phrase or image on this part of the box that is often disregarded and ignored, as a surprise for when you open the box, acting as a pick me up in itself. A similar idea was taken for the inside lid ideas, as I thought it could be good to have something printed here, which you only get access to once you buy the product, as an extra freebie, such as a fun fact or how to make the perfect cup (which is something I found out most tea packaging includes, which I didn't realise before conducting my primary research).

For what to put for the ingredients, I researched into teas of the same flavours, to see what they had for their ingredients, and the different quantities as well. What was interesting was that they didn't include anything to bulk them out, purely natural ingredients for the most part, which meant that our teas can purely be Lemon Balm and Valerian, without any added extras to make them work as tea.

After producing these mock ups and initial sketched layouts, I created this digitally using the final pattern as well, to see it for real. For some of the more complicated and information heavy sides I used photographs from the primary research on how to word certain things and specific information to include.

I played around with what to include on the flap, as I thought about text initially but didn't want to sound condescending or critical or judgemental, or to alienate certain types of people. To resolve this experimentations were done using a # instead to link to social media, as well as a heart, which has a warming, friendly appearance without having to say anything.

Some of the most effective layouts were then put into a net for me to print out and mock up to see how it will all work 3D.

I roughly drew on the tabs to understand where they should go before accurately drawing them on.

Mock up #2
This mock up was to scale, so it was great to see the actual size of the finished packaging, and see whether or not it was appropriate. I showed this box to the other two group members so that they could give their opinion on the content and the layout.

Feedback
We agreed to change the heart on the flap to be a full colour so it stands out more against the pattern. We also agreed to try and make the bar code more interesting, as DBA said they really liked interesting bar codes, so this was something we wanted to try out. We also agreed to change the bottom side rotation, so that when you're reading the back you can turn it over to the bottom and it'll be the right way up, as at the moment it was the opposite way round. We also said to remove the "how to make a perfect cup" part from the back as it looked a little cramped, and replace it with social media logos, putting the perfect cup on the inside lid as the surprise when you open the box.
Whilst I had been working on the packaging, Richelle had been working on the website, so she sent me over the icons for social media to put on the packaging so they were consistent. Emily also said she'd design the bar code, following the sketches I had made where it looks like a cup of tea, and also some research into cool bar codes.

The result
After making the changes following the feedback and getting the social media icons off Richelle and the new bar code off Emily, I created this new net, where the pattern is continuous across the whole net (rather than being one square pattern repeated) so it all lines up. I also copied the outline exactly and placed the text that will be printed on the inside lid so that when we printed it off double sided it all lines up and the text is central to the side.

The next stage will be to print this off on thicker stock and experiment with the other two patterns and flavours that Richelle and Emily are producing, tailoring the information on the pack to suit the ingredients and nootropic.