New Practical Idea- Further Research

I have now begun to come up with some further ideas for my COP practical work following feedback that I received at my presentation (see blog post 'New Practical Idea).

My new ideas following the presentation feedback focus on Indian/Pakistani spice and masala packaging. This is relevant as this culture is most personal towards myself, which I mention in my essay, also because another section in my essay focuses on Eastern vs Western comparisons and similarities so this would tie into that as well.

Also, my essay will mention stereotypical imagery that is used in design to represent a culture (relating to the point that Amber mentioned about Mexican food packaging), which may be seen as culturally inappropriate.

My aim is to re-brand a spice/masala packaging company that uses all of these stereotypical imagery and instead re-brand the packaging and visuals to focus more on the stories and journeys of the spices, the origins, where they were picked from, the specific areas that they come from etc... more about the history of each spice, a more personal touch.

Stereotypical Indian/Pakistani imagery to avoid:

-Images/photographs of the spices and masala in bowls
-Elephants
-Taj Mahal
-Clashing or muddy colours
-Overly detailed logo
-Overuse of the colours red and green
-Too much imagery on the front; big image to dominate page, overly detailed logo, clashing colours...just too much to take in at once

I have started to research into existing spice brands, both good and badly designed examples are shown below

Bad:

MDH Spices

Pattu

Vasant Masala

Below shows the examples of spice packaging branding that I found successful and more aesthetically pleasing...

Good:

Spice Tailor

-The logo is successful; isn't too overly Eastern looking, subtle and minimal through the use of the scalloped edge

-Colours work really well, use of two main contrasting colours on each packet

-Consistent design through each different spice/masala, just use different colours which are appropriate to the specific spice

-Different typeface used for text and different typeface for logo work well together.

-Contemporary and minimal with subtle eastern aesthetic is successful

Tiqld

-The selective colour palette works extremely well. I love the 3 colours, they also contrast well with each other...very contemporary and bold, but still have that eastern feel

-Contrasting illustrations, interesting and intriguing aesthetic; the way each illustration on each packet is a combination of two different illustrations

-Sans serif typeface for the logo contrasts well with the detailed illustrations and bold colours

This week, I plan on visiting asian food supermarkets in order to gather some primary research on spice and masala packaging.