My personalized brief was to create a fun, eye-catching and appetizing design for a foil chocolate bar wrapper. The following features were mandatory: The title: Yum-Yum-Yum, an illustrative depiction of the main ingredient: Peanut butter and the weight: 75g.

Throughout my initial research and concept ideation I took inspiration from existing designs, referencing vintage candy bars from the 60’s and 70’s. I took note of the typical colour palettes – brown, orange, white and yellow - used by companies like Reece’s and Peter Paul’s. Upon receiving client feedback on my initial ideas however, I was advised to steer away from using colours like brown and orange, as this would look too similar to existing Peanut butter products and thus lack innovation. Instead I took a new direction, attempting to design something more playful and vibrant – that would appeal to a younger demographic.

                                                                                       

During the design process I gained insight into the importance of dynamic typography in commercial packaging. As my initial title ideas were more artistic and abstract, I found it challenging when asked to adapt my design aesthetic to meet the style and standard of ‘impulse goods’.

Selecting an appropriate typeface for the product title was difficult. It needed to have legibility and simplicity, while being strong enough to stand out from the background and become memorable amongst consumers. Through familiarizing myself with impulse packaging design, as well as conducting research into why this style is favoured for marketing food, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of commercial design and what it means to respond appropriately to the needs of the client.

Delving further into my design process I observed the essential need to continue expanding my techniques beyond that of what Photoshop effects can create alone. Having gotten comfortable using the layer style effects when constructing the title, I initially found it difficult to go beyond these tools when bringing my peanut butter illustration from Illustrator into Photoshop. Despite the effects filters being helpful and often necessary during editing and compositing, it’s important not to forget the effectiveness of using manual tools like the soft brush, pen tool, different gradients and the eraser. These methods required me to pay closer attention to the image composition, allowing me to more accurately enhance certain areas whilst focusing on; the detail, where the light was coming from, where the shadows and highlights should be etc.

A third major insight I became aware of throughout this assignment was the crucial element of time. As I had trouble deciding on a solid direction in the initial stages, I learned first hand about the importance of leaving enough time to make alterations that I felt were necessary or were requested by the client.

As well as this, I became increasingly mindful of the need to use time efficiently and to design quickly. I find managing my time while deliberating over of an idea considerably challenging; this is something I feel I need to improve on. Completing an invoice as a final step definitely assisted me in understanding the importance of setting deadlines and working within time constraints.

When evaluating my final outcome I consider whether I could have made the peanut butter illustration look more dynamic and prominent within the composition. I also wonder if the use of more contrasting colours in my design could have made the overall product more eye-catching to consumers.

Ultimately I found this assignment both challenging and rewarding. I gained a deeper understanding of a different kind of design and realized the importance of adapting personal aesthetic to meet the commercial demands of a brief. Moreover, I continued to advance my skills in Photoshop and Illustrator, being conscious of time constraints and the client’s needs.