Dutch Packaging Design

This years Dutch Design Week will take place from the 20th until the 28th of October. This eleventh edition offers a unique glimpse into the future of design thanks to the endless creativity of hundreds of renowned designers and young talents from The Netherlands.
Over 1,500 designers display their work ranging from graphic design, industrial design, packaging design, spatial design, textiles, fashion, architecture, sustainable responsible business design and design management & trends. There are 85 different locations housing more than 300 events. Besides exhibitions, there are numerous lectures, workshops, fashion shows and seminars.

This year 200,000 visitors are expected to visit the Dutch Design Week.

Dutch Designweek 2012, Eindhoven – The Netherlands

Ever thought about just how persuasive packaging can be? Supermarkets use carefully designed packaging to influence customers’ perceptions of their products. But does it work? It was tested with chocolate chip cookies on two groups of people, one group tasted and rated the cookies without seeing any of the packaging, while the other group did the same thing while the packets were shown beforehand. Read about the results here.
Packaging is one way of making a product get your attention. But there’s more. Every element of the in-store environment is carefully deliberated over; from the general layout to the position of products on the shelf and even the smell and sound.
Read more about psychological tactic in stores here.

Already back in 2007, Anke Weiss, a Dutch modern designer who uses recycled materials, has designed a series of beautiful lights made from recycled food and drink packaging. Weiss takes – for instance – juice cartons that have been emptied of their contents and pokes holes in them, through which light will shine after the piece is completed. Recycling to the max that is.
More on this project and Anke Weiss’ work here, here and here.

A compilation of yearly design awards, this book features the best in communication and packaging design from around the world. The iF communication design awards have been conferred since 2004 by a panel of design experts from across the world. Showcased in this volume are the most outstanding examples of communication and packaging design. This yearbook presents trendsetting achievement in advertising, media, campaigns, packaging, and websites.

Read more here, or buy here.

Stepfive creates new distinctive retail and catering concepts for food and beverage brands on a daily basis. We develop new concepts, recipes, brands and packaging design together with our clients. We also revitalise existing products on our own initiative, because we are convinced many products could have a more successful brand appearance with the right adaption and repositioning. For example, we have created this new concept for Bloody Mary.

This Bloody Mary concept can be used for the catering and retail sector. The bottle has two facings (meant for standing and hanging) and can therefore be placed on a shelf, perhaps in a retail environment, or can be suspended within catering establishments. You also have the option of attaching a connecting piece with a hose, allowing drinking glasses to be filled with Bloody Mary from a bottle hanging on the bar.

A recent study by Accenture, ComScore and Dunnhumby USA shows the importance of an attractive webshop in relation to actual purchases in-store. Shoppers who visit websites for consumer packaged goods brands before setting foot in a store spend up to 37% more on those brands in-store than those who didn’t come to these websites. Web visitors also returned to the store more often to buy the brand: 3.2 buying occasions per month against 2.3 for non-visitors. Site visitors also spent more per month in the product category of a brand whose site they’ve gone to.
Read the complete study here.
More on (online) shopping and packaging design here.

The event for everyone who admits that packaging is ”more than just a box around a product”. If you’re responsible for your company’s goods, such as SRP, shelf standout, the development of new designs or a product’s life span, then PACKAGING INNOVATIONS 2012 is your number one must-see exhibition of the year.
Wednesday 28 / thursday 29 november 2012, Passenger Terminal, Amsterdam

An entirely new brand called ‘Via Organica’ launched a complete new range of organic pet food. Focus of Via Organica is primarily on the Dutch retail channel and secondly the Bio-supermarkets. Stepfive created a new packaging design with a fresh and modern illustrative look. There are several strong color variations for each different categorie and every one of them has its own typical illustration. For now Via Organica only involves organic chicken food, the next step will be food for all kind of pets.

Packaging design always had to look slick on the shelves, be functional, protective and attractive, not too heavy and most important: at a prominent place in stores, dying to be bought. But what remains from all of this when we’re shopping online? Do we choose only the products nowadays, or is there still an important role left for packaging design?
Shikatani Lacroix’ Design Lounge did an interesting study on this theme.
Want to know the answers? Go here.

An entertaining and yet educative app for the iPhone and iPad is launched by ‘Plastics Make it Possible‘. The name? Bin It! A fun and addictive new game that challenges you to recycle your packaging and other stuff in a fun way! Bin It is a free game. Download it in the app store.