Seven seconds away

27 April 2011



A product has to catch the consumer’s eye and have pick-me-up appeal. Joanne Hunter looks at designs that play with light and create visual treats.


Packaging on shelf is under increasing competition to attract attention from consumers. It is now widely known that seven seconds is all it takes for most of us to make a decision on which branded product to buy in store.

The main basis of the choice we make is taken at the point of display, despite our exposure to all the advertising media before we’ve even entered the store. Shelf stand-out and product differentiation will continue to grow in importance despite the high level of ‘colour noise’ already created in the supermarket aisles, as packaging products compete for the attention of consumers.

Sun Chemical’s SunInspire is a range of printable, ‘spectacular’ graphic design effects.

“It presents a wonderful world of colour, touch, aroma and interactive effects to lift any packaging design from the ordinary to the extraordinary,” says Jo Stephenson, Sun Chemical’s Marketing Director, Packaging Europe.

The range includes phosphorescent (glow in the dark) inks that absorb UV light under daylight or artificial lighting conditions and emit a subsequent long afterglow in darkened conditions. This afterglow can last up to approximately eight hours, dependant on the degree of charging and the amount of ink weight printed.

Daylight fluorescent gives strong, very bright and ‘clean’ colours produced from a limited range of pigments, which fluoresce under daylight conditions. Colours can be mixed to give a required shade. Also, invisible fluorescent offers colours that become visible under UV light, which are colourless under daylight or normal artificial light: just the thing for night club promotions, says Ms Stephenson.

To launch ‘breakthrough’ Sensodyne Repair and Protect, GlaxoSmithKline used advanced holographic technology to grab the shopper’s attention, working with laminates specialist API, Chesapeake and design partner Blue Marlin.

Fresnel lens technology creates images on flat surfaces which was exploited to illustrate the benefits of the product and how it works.

“We set out to achieve packaging that could communicate the product promise in a few seconds, even from a distance,” says Simon Ritchie, a Packaging Design and Ideation Director at GSK.

Blue Marlin’s Bath, UK, based Creative Director Chris Hart adds: “The holographs make you want to pick up the pack and run your fingers over them.”

Simon Richie championed using the Fresnel technology, which Bombay Sapphire before it had incorporated into a carton design for its decorative effect.

Intending to raise the technical bar, Sensodyne set out to highlight the ‘brand truth’, expressed in a decorative way. As Mr Hart sees it, the toothpaste works at the ‘microscopic’ level and Fresnel technology visually explains the process.

The ‘play with light’ effect allows passing shoppers to enjoy the aesthetic on shelf – in this case, Boots – from a distance of around 1.5m.

The effect was hard-won and Sensodyne’s Mr Richie worked closely with printers to make it possible to print over the Fresnel lens.

A light-play effect through shaping technology was engineered into PepsiCo’s glacial natural water brand Isklar (Norwegian for ‘ice clear’). The multi-faceted plastics bottle appears to sparkle, added to which the diamond shaped label has a metallic glint.

Another example, Mastika, a Bulgarian white alcoholic spirit, was given a faceted glass bottle for instant impact. The crystalline-shaped label also brings alive the brand story. It has to stand up to time spent in the freezer, which gives the contents a snow-like look.

Cost has to be factored into any decision to introduce a special effect, but payback from enhanced sales can offset the additional expense, it can be argued. Evidence lies in Isklar’s Silver in the 2011 Design Effectiveness Business Awards: proof of uplift of sales was one of the judging criteria.

Designers tend to avoid recommending effects for their own sake, says Mr Hart: “Designers know when to use a spanner, not a hammer.” And they will suggest using a more ecological alternative. Designed with an eye on the environment, the Isklar bottle uses less plastic to retain rigidity.

In the past decade what has been the biggest breakthroughs in material engineering for the design community? Coconut fibre material is a good one to have in the arsenal, says the Blue Marlin designer. Also on his list is lenticular technology that enables a transition between transparent and a selling message: practical, informative, functional, surprising and with the pick-me-up factor – ‘cool’ for mobile phone packaging for example, thinks Mr Hart.

Lastly he mentions the bottle launched by Pernod Ricard for Ballantine's Finest blended Scotch whisky in a bottle that flashes like a graphic equaliser in time to the music.

Designed by London-based studio The Core, the self-illuminating bottle is powered by batteries or mains. The dark blue spray- coated bottle appears to react to the tonal quality of audio passing through it, by lighting up intermittently.

High-end to high street

Global duty-free outlets are the packaging industry’s ‘catwalk’. Design inspiration and what lies around the corner for high-street retailing is showcased in the world’s biggest airports. This is where high-end luxury is evoked by national ‘local’ brands. “Technologies at this level trickle down. They are early adopters because they can afford it,” observes Mr Hart.

Does the designer have a part to play in driving special effects technology? The answer is yes, for RLC Packaging Group, which has products that act as ‘eye candy’ while keeping an eye on the environment, in a range clearly labelled as such: Green Chic Technologies.

Klaus Blessing, Project Management, RLC explains further: “As a folding carton packaging manufacturer with our integrated design competence centre Brandpack, we combine our production and design know-how. Therefore we are able to ensure application and integration. This way we are early adopters of state-of-the art developments in the field of effects and decorations in the early design stages.”

Mr Blessing notes that a step-change in design priorities has come due to constant cost-pressure and sustainability issues.

“There has been significant, growing demand for environmentally friendly effects that also have impressive appeal at the point of sale,” he says. For example, RLC’s laser gloss technique is described as a ‘dramatic, new opportunity to create environment-friendly holographic effects at the point-of-sale by an innovative inline conversion and finishing technique.’

New developments are keeping holography to the fore in packaging innovation. The cast & cure process can offer ‘huge’ savings over the use of conventional holographic laminates, says Glenn Wood of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association.

The technology, supplied by US-based Breit Technologies but originating from UK company Foiltone, is a decorative coating process that integrates ‘casting’ and ‘curing’ techniques to form a consistent high quality surface that can include ultra high gloss, matt and holographic finishes on a variety of substrates. A UV-curable resin is applied to the substrate and the holographic relief pattern is pressed in to this from a reel of holographic film. The resin is cured under UV light while in contact with the holographic film, which is then detached and rewound.

Global brand Procter & Gamble made it a central feature for Gillette Proglide Fusion Power. The vertical holographic rainbow lines on the square box for the replacement cartridges have been designed to catch the eye in this way.

API has made holography more accessible by cutting down the time and cost of producing holographic effects. Holonique is a technical achievement that aims to fill the gap in the holographic market between off the shelf and bespoke origination. It is possible to combine numerous holographic patterns, images and logos with an almost unlimited number of styles, effects and colours, says API. New designs and mock-ups can be created in ‘a matter of days’. With Holonique companies remain in control over the whole design process.

Alternatives

Alternatives to holographic products that similarly produce optical effects are being supported by VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland.

VTT reports that it is working on packaging and printing materials

based on transparent and non-transparent substrates that promise to be cost competitive compared with special labels or holographic foils. The technology ditches metals and uses instead environmentally friendly coatings. Functional optical effects can be produced that react to stimuli in the surroundings such as moisture, and can be transferred on 3D surfaces.

These companies, among many more focused on enabling a host of extraordinary effects, can be seen at Interpack: Sun Chemical (Hall 07a, Stand D32); RLC Packaging (Hall 07a, Stand B11/C30; VTT (Hall 09 / C20-2); and Promens (Hall 10, Stand E88).

Darling jar

Nutricosmetics packaging by Promens is simple yet effective, while inviting brand owners to release their creative inhibitions.

The Darling jar’s two-part lid has a transparent ‘porthole’ to reveal the contents. Depending on how each part of the lid is decorated - metallised, plated, lacquered or varnished - the jar can look ‘totally different’, says Promens.

Adding an insert makes it suitable for oral cosmetics, such as pills, and ceramide capsules for intensive skin care. The jar can be made of SAN, PCTG, SMMA, or PMMA.


An example of Sun Chemical’s SunInspire range that offers ‘spectacular’ graphic design effects. SunInspire A multi-faceted bottle for Isklar brand water appears to sparkle. Isklar Jo Stephenson, Sun Chemical Marketing Director, Packaging Europe. Jo Stephenson Dr Glenn Wood of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association. Glenn Wood Fresnel lens technology was used for new Sensodyne toothpaste. Fresnel

Fresnel Fresnel
Glenn Wood Glenn Wood
SunInspire SunInspire
Isklar Isklar
Jo Stephenson Jo Stephenson


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