The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Explore the exciting medium of packaging design by creating branded products for retail display. How do you make a product stand out from the shelves? What makes the targeted consumer want to buy it? Students address these questions via course projects including champagne packaging, pizza box, perfume bottle, and mass versus prestige applications.

LESSON 1 Seeing in 3D Package design requires you to see and design in a whole new way—in three dimensions. In this lesson, you'll learn about foundation types of 3D packaging and important design principles for create effective packages, including product type, composition, visibility, consistency, shape, and audience. Store presentation concepts such as placement and counter animation are addressed. You will also be introduced to the production of 3D designs: printing, labeling, and the creation of mechanicals. For your first project, you'll design a pizza box and carry-out bag for a Brooklyn pizza joint.

LESSON 2 Mass vs. Prestige Target audiences are many and diverse, but a basic level, all product packaging is targeted for either mass or prestige audiences. Lesson Two explores the design, budgetary, and production choices of designing for mass or prestige audiences. Case studies from beauty and cosmetics industry illustrate how packaging designs communicate value or value-for-money, and exclusivity or accessibility. You'll take a field trip to identify some mass and prestige packaging as well as study counter animation. In the exercise, you'll redesign a no-frills mass package for a more exclusive audience.

LESSON 3 Tangible Visual Marketing Lesson Three discusses the role of target markets in creating packaging designs. You'll look at how demographics are collected and how to use and go beyond marketing data to target your package designs. Examples and case studies explore how very specific marketing briefs can translate into design choices. Finally, you will try your hand at designing for a specific audience creating a CD package for your favorite band.

LESSON 4 Playful Design A whimsical, fun, or simply unexpected design can attract consumer to your product package and make a memorable statement. In this lesson, you will learn how and when to infuse your package designs with playful, lively visuals. Case studies will open your eyes to some of the most fun packaging around. Then in this lesson's assignment, you'll design a playful toy packaging for kids and adults alike.

LESSON 5 Branding Product Lines Most products don't just stand alone. Typically, a package design is part of an entire product line which has established brand and a visual style all of its own. This lesson examines how product lines are branded, expanded, and kept consistent. You will study which components are variable so that each product in the line is unique. In the exercise, you'll work within the goals and constraints of a product line to introduce a new champagne package.

LESSON 6 Launching a New Product Design There is no greater thrill than seeing your package design creation available to the masses. But before your designs hit the shelves, you must pitch your hard work to the client. Lesson Six wraps up the course with a look at making a powerful presentations, and the revisions you can expect to make along the way to a packaging design project. An industry case study explores an entire new product design from concept to launch. For your final project, you will design, present, and "launch" a perfume box and bottle design.