Head in the clouds, feet on the ground

24 January 2007



Packaging Today talks to Starpack 2007 sponsor RPC Group about the challenge of balancing eye-catching aesthetics with functionality when designing new packs and the importance of collaboration in achieving optimal results


RPC Group says two of the key reasons for its sponsorship of the Starpack Industry Awards 2007 were to highlight the importance design plays in every successful pack and to clearly illustrate how designers and manufacturers can work together effectively to turn creative concepts into practical, stylish finished products.

A headline Award sponsor, the company is also now in its seventh year of sponsoring the Best Designer/Design House of the Year Award. Group marketing services manager Corinne Lawrence explains: “RPC has a proud history of design success and we feel this sponsorship is helping both to strengthen packaging manufacturers' links with the design community further and to develop effective working partnerships that will benefit customers.”

But what constitutes successful packaging design? RPC design manager Jim Dale sums it up: “It's about a pack making a connection with its end-user. A pack must live up to expectations, both by reflecting the product's image and delivering a performance in keeping with it. It's not simply a question of aesthetics. Someone buying a floor cleaner will find an easy, accurate pouring design or of far greater appeal than an unusual shape or eye-catching label. And it 's the effectiveness of these practical features that will ensure a repeat purchase.”

When it comes to aesthetics, creating a good-looking pack often involves far more than a unique shape or attractive decoration. “Again, it's a question of fitness-for-purpose,” says Dale. “Recently we devised a pack for a wood treatment product. Part of the brief was that the container should be rugged and sturdy in appearance, as this best reflected a product designed for use outdoors.”

Past winners of the RPC Group Award are excellent examples of the many different components that can be involved in successful pack design. One winning pack in 2006 was the Boss SKIN range designed by Webb Scarlett deVlam, which the judges said ideally demonstrated “male functionality and aesthetics”.

In 2005 it was the simple effectiveness of the Medicines Manager System, from Future Technology, that stole the show. The system, developed for the elderly and long-term care patients, excited the judges because its design was totally in keeping with end-user expectations.

“The best designers need to have their heads in the clouds and their feet firmly on the ground,” says Jim Dale. “There should be no creative boundaries when pack concepts are first being explored. The key is to know when reality must kick in to ensure the final design retains its flair and individuality while being able to be manufactured cost-effectively, run on the required filling line and deliver complete end-user satisfaction.”

What many successful pack designs also demonstrate is multi-party involvement. The pack's physical appearance cannot be finalised until details such as how it is to be filled and transported or what convenience features must be incorporated have been considered. This often involves designers and manufacturers liaising right from creation of the first concepts. It is the effectiveness of these working partnerships that the RPC Group Best Designer/Design House of the Year Award seeks to celebrate.

*The RPC Group is acknowledged as one of Europe's leading manufacturers of rigid plastics packaging, with 50 sites specialising in specific materials and manufacturing processes to deliver standard and bespoke packaging solutions.

The Starpack Industry Awards 2007, including the award ceremonies, dinner and cabaret, will be held on May 15 2007 at the National Motorcycle Museum close to the Birmingham NEC alongside the Total Processing & Packaging Exhibition 2007.

The 2007 sponsors are: RPC Group, Total Processing & Packaging Exhibition 2007, WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), Pro Carton (Association of European Cartonboard and Carton Manufacturers), IOM3 (Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining). Starpack is organised by IOP: The Packaging Society in partnership with Wilmington Media.

Individual category sponsors are: RPC Group - Best Designer/Design House of the Year; Total Processing & Packaging Exhibition 2007 - Starpack Business of the Year; Pro Carton - Best in Creative Cartonboard Packaging; WRAP - Best Innovation to Reduce Waste; DHL Exel Supply Chain - Best Transit Pack/ Bulk Pack/Logistics Pack Award; and Abbey Corrugated - Best Use of Innovative Materials. Supporters include MPMA (Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association); the PPMA and Food & Drink Matters from William Reed's Food & Drink World 2008.


The Medicine Manager system from Future Technology won Starpack Gold ... The Medicine Manager system from Future Technology won Starpack Gold ...
RPC's Jim Dale: “The best designers need to have their ... RPC's Jim Dale: “The best designers need to have their ...
All good design solutions - as these from RPC illustrate ... All good design solutions - as these from RPC illustrate ...


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