Identica Insight 02 D&AD Judging

SAM STONECreative Director, Identica

IDENTICAINSIGHT

Issue 2D&AD JUDGING

GUEST EDITOR EDITION

D&AD AWARD JUDGING - PACKAGING 2013

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D&AD JUDGING 2013

I had the pleasure recently of being invited to judge the Packaging Category at this year’s D&AD Awards. There were seven of us in total on the judging panel, some of whom had flown in from the US and Japan to participate.

We had over 200 entries to judge on the day, some of which provoked great debate and discussion amongst the judging team! It was a fantastic opportunity to see what has been happening across the world with packaging design and innovation over the last year. The standard was incredibly high...

The following pages capture some of the key trends happening, the judging process, my thoughts and overall observations of the day.

Some food for thought. Enjoy. Sam

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1. A sea of tables displaying all the packaging entries in the main hall at Olympia. The scale of the task very quickly became apparent.

2. The judging panel. From left to right: Taku Satoh, Sam Stone, David Turner, Adam Ellis, Pascal Duval, Katrin Oeding, Shaun Bowen.

3. Four rounds of confidential judging were made via an iPad mini. In round one, In Book awards are given to entries that receive votes from at least 50% of the jury. In the following rounds, Nominations, Yellow Pencils and Black Pencils are given to pieces of work that also receive over 50% of the votes.


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TECHNOLOGY

It was a surprise to see that there was only one submission, amongst all the entries, that used technology within the its packaging this year. By holding our phones up to this bottle of Juice Burst we were able to see how the juice was made and the story behind the brand.

It would seem that, since the boom in augmented reality has happened in other marketing channels, the integration of this technology has yet to be fully utilsed in an engaging way in the world of packaging design. Both a challenge and an opportunity for us here at Identica. Watch this space...

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There was a definite wealth of entries this year that displayed their authenticity, craft and heritage.

The search for the real, the genuine and the true has always been at the heart of the consumer experience, but perhaps the effects of the economic downturn, have amplified our need to find something real and authentic.

The question has to be are these ‘real authentic’ or ‘fake authentic’?

1. Packaging created for a range of chocolate bars inspired by unique flavours found in some of the regions across the Indian sub-continent.

2. This 100% made-in-the-Philippines rum was aged in oak barrels for seven years in the foothills of Mt. Kanlaon.

3. Branding for Kobrick Coffee Company, a 92-year-old artisanal roaster of coffee for many of New York City’s finest restaurants.

4. Packaging for heritage cider and rare local varieties grown on 12 acres of land just outside Halstock, Dorset.

NOSTALGIC/CRAFTED

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There was only one direction the recent popularity in minimal design could go and that was reductionistic to the extreme!

The concept of minimalism has its roots in the mid-20th century, but it is clear that it is still a major design influence today. In this act of reduction there is desire to create universal beauty, truth, and simplicity.

However a common mistake in pursuing extreme visual minimalism is to reduce the design to a point where both the personality and the functionality of the brand fails to deliver.

You decide...beautiful or boring?

1. Studio Design Depot labels for a wine brand. The empty square panel is intended to represent the perfection and the simplicity of the product.

2. Packaging for top quality sausages from family butcher, Anton Riepl.

3. Packaging for Stina wine, from the island of Brac in Dalmatia. Brac is known for its white stone and for being the birthplace of famous artists. The blank white wine-bottle label represents a block of stone, inviting the drinker to draw on it and create their own artwork.

4. Packaging for top quality sausages from family butcher, Anton Riepl.

BEYOND MINIMAL

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Typographic branding is all about being blunt and unfussy about the product behind the packaging.

These examples of bold typographical branding help emphasize what a product is and how it’s going to be of use to you and your way of life.

Typographic branding helps to keep things clean and sophisticated, which is precisely what many retailers are attempting to do when you walk in a store or down an aisle.

1. Dependable Engine Oil packaging gets straight to the point by boldly telling the customer exactly what’s inside.

2. HealGel is an aqueous gel, bringing together in one formula the best active ingredients to soothe, repair and protect your skin. The type style provides the functional and scientific reassurance of genuinely effective skin care.

3. Thanks to a ‘lenticular’ label applied to their front face these 100ml bottles change their typographic appearance at every turn. It’s a space saving exercise (allowing for4 unique panels) but also helps create an eye-catching package.

4. Butcher, Anton Riepl.

PURE TYPE

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Simple, bold geometric shapes have been fighting back this year in a bid perhaps to counter the hand-drawn or crafted styles prevalent in packaging and graphic design at the moment.

It would seem that minimalism, simplification and experimentation with basic shapes and colour have begun to appear as a result.

This trend looks set to continue, perhaps fuelled by our current love of infographics?

1. To Western consumers, traditional Japanese sake labelling is indecipherable and largely indistinguishable. Joto’s packaging opts for bold colour and infographics describing each sake’s brewing process and tasting notes.

2. Takarazuka Milk Packaging in Japan by Adesty.

3. In the city of Rikuzentakata, a single pine tree stands as a testament to survival after the tsunami of 2011. This beer’s name means ‘One Pine Tree’ and its design is a symbol of charity and hope for Japan’s brighter future.

4. Designed by Moruba, Rioja, the wine of the barber, where mundane chat mingles with ancestral wisdom.

GEOMETRIC

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FINAL NOMINATIONS

After four rounds of intense judging and discussions the jury finally agreed its selection for In Book status and Nominations.

It is worth remembering, each round required over 50% of the vote by the judges to make it to the final round. The final vote for Yellow Pencil was not made known to the judges, so even though we knew what had been nominated, we do not currently know which entries from the nominations have achieved a Yellow Pencil. All will be revealed at the Award Ceremony in June...

If you want to see what we did nominate you can find them all at the following link:

http://www.dandad.org/awards/profes-sional/2013/categories/pack/packaging-design

See if you can spot the Yellow Pencil winners...

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THANK YOU

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TO FIND OUT MORE: Call +44 (0)20 3451 9700, or email Leah Williams [email protected]