STAR WARS PACKAGE DESIGN
This project was done for my Troubleshooting class in my final semester at Western Technical College. The assigned project was to find a product lacking in smart packaging, and of course, overall design. I found this Star Wars: The Black Series action figure packaging while browsing the often visited LEGO/action toy aisle at the Wal-Mart. The packaging didn't stand out compared to other brands and lines, and the bottom of the bubble was detached from the backing. Over the next few weeks, I designed and created a smarter and attention grabbing version of the package.
Original Packaging
Below is the original packaging. You can see the bubble is taped onto the top, and not sealed. I researched the problem, and collectors everywhere complained of receiving figures out of their bubble and/or the bubble detached because the adhesive didn't seal correctly. There were also complaints of the design being too plain and not enticing compared to others on store shelves. I took these flaws into consideration when creating the improved package.
Die-Cut Design
Final Design
For my design I used brighter colors, gradients, and chose a different typeface more representative of the Star Wars brand. I kept a simplistic, minimalistic look to keep with what the brand wanted for the series and designed accordingly. On the back I included a checklist of figures in the series (for the collectors), and used an action pose of the figure to evoke a sense of excitement with this series of figures.
The packing itself is designed to secure the bubble even if the glue fails to seal the bubble to the back package. To secure the bubble, glue would be placed on the black flaps and glued to the bubble holding that in place. So if you are a collector, that package won't come undone and as for the kids, well, they have one more thing to rip through to play with their action figure.
Fun Fact:
Before and during this project, I never saw a single Star Wars movie (22 year streak!). As of September 23rd, 2015 I have seen the first two: IV and V! PROGRESS!! And yes, I'm going "in order". Anyways, I had a blast researching previous Star Wars package designs, learning the Star Wars brand, and talking to passionate Star Wars collectors and fans to improve my design. This was a great project to work on and I hope you enjoyed viewing it as much as I did producing the final product.
