DAVID BUSHAY

This project requires you to transform a product of your choice increasing its product/ brand value. Your task is to go into a pound shop and pick a seemingly uninteresting object and rebrand it, increasing its value and interest. Methods in doing this are up to your creativity and innovation. Disciplines to consider are: Advertising, Product Design, Packaging, Branding.

£1 Brief

ResearchAs part of my research into this project I decided to study previous re-brands by companies have undertaken to better understand how it’s done and what needs to be considered in the process. So in this section you will find case studies of products that have gone through a rebranding or repackaging process to help aid me to do the same.

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Dish Soap PackagingMethod raised the question as to why many people hide their bathroom products in a cupboard. Karim Rashid’s packaging designs include teardrops, truncated cones and a squeeze bottle design that includes and unsual pinch-neck feature. These elements combine to make a more visually interesting and tactile experience for consumers..

Brand AssociationsConsumers buying Philip B haircare products in stores like Nieman Marcus are not only buying a haircare product but the associated kudos of Phillip B himself, the “international haircare guru”, hairdresser to the stars, and regular feature in magazines like Vogue and Elle

Herbal RemedyFollowing the redesign of Dr Stuart’s Botanical Teas, sales in the UK, rose by 65 percent-in a market which was only growing at 12 percent. Furthermore, the range is now listed in all major UK multiples, has entered new markets.

Winsor & Newton InkEach of these Winsor and Newton Ink packs represents a different colour in the tonal range, and each in engaging and involving in its own right. Indeed, each is a triumph of the art of illustration itself. Put together, they are like a collection of short stories. The range is irresistible on-shelf and packed with authority.

In contrast to the hosiery sectors, the speciality teas sector seemingly has no defining characteristic beyond a degree of sophistication and “exoticness” employed in its packaging design.

Styles Infusions

Geow Yong TeaThe repackaging of the gift set for this century-old tea house in Sheung Wan, involved deliberatley carving the gift boxes with Chnese window patterns, so as to exude the scent of tea, while also setting the mood for the enjoyment of Chinese tea.

Boots EssentialsTheir use of typography is clear, simple and understated. In controlling the point-of-sale enviroment retailers have a big advantage over brand owners. Boots Essentials range to have presence in-store through its strenght of colour presented en masse.As well as using colour, shape and understated typography to communicate style, they also used language. Each product has its own ‘well-being’ sentence as a footmark, so a dental care pack carries the legend ‘smile more, its catching’ strap line.Underneath the branding the typography is arranged as a simple hierarchy; first the product name, then its description, then its benefit - all explained in a straightforward language.

The project has proved to be enormously successful for Boots with consumers saying it has changed their perception of the reatailer and has encouraged them to re-evaluate the Boots own brand offer. They see Boots Essentials as far more stylish and modern then Tescos own brand.

KotexIdentification with Kotex through distinctive packgaging rose 780 per cent in Western European markets. Shoppers particularly signled out the ‘personal care’ angle. They commented that the new packaging showed that Kotex had become more of a beauty product and therefore was a more attractive item to pick off the shelves.

FebrezeThe challenge was to design packaging that keeps both your design sensibilities and the enviroment in mind. Karim designed the Method line to proudly stand on your counter top rather than be hidden under the kitchen sink. His signature undulating curves and blobs are extremely ergonomic and user-friendly after their reincarnation at Method. This makes cleaning more fun and more convenient.

Product SearchAfter research and before I could begin my development, I needed a product to work with. This sent me out to Poundland. I was on the search for a product which didn’t stand out on the shelves and weren’t particularly interesting. This was hard because usually products are ‘meant’ to stand out and catch your attention, so in this case I had to do the opposite and look for products which did not.

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Chosen ProductMy chosen product to improve was Palmolive soaps. Though it may look pleasant in the image opposite, I found on the shelf it didn’t grab my attention and the packaging didn’t communicate clearly. I will now begin research into soaps and the Palmolive brand to gain deeper insight.

SoapSoap is a combination of animal fat or plant oil and caustic soda. When dissolved in water, it breaks dirt away from surfaces. Through the ages soap has been used to cleanse, to cure skin sores, to dye hair, and as a salve or skin ointment. But today we generally use soap as a cleanser or perfume.

The exact origins of soap are unknown, though Roman sources claim it dates back to at least 600 b.c., when Phoenicians prepared it from goat’s tallow and wood ash. Soap was also made by the Celts, ancient inhabitants of Britain. Soap was used widely throughout the Roman empire, primarily as a medicine. Mention of soap as a cleanser does not appear until the second century a.d. By the eighth century, soap was common in France, Italy, and Spain, but it was rarely used in the rest of Europe until as late as the 17th century.

ProcessThe kettle method of making soap is still used today by small soap manufacturing companies. This process takes from four to eleven days to complete, and the quality of each batch is inconsistent due to the variety of oils used. Around 1940, engineers and scientists developed a more efficient manufacturing process, called the continuous process. This procedure is employed by large soap manufacturing companies all around the world today. Exactly as the name states, in the continuous process soap is produced continuously, rather than one batch at a time. Technicians have more control of the production in the continuous process, and the steps are much quicker than in the kettle method—it takes only about six hours to complete a batch of soap.

MaterialSoap requires two major raw materials: fat and alkali. The alkali most commonly used today is sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide can also be used. Potassium-based soap creates a more water-soluble product than sodium-based soap, and so it is called “soft soap.” Soft soap, alone or in combination with sodium-based soap, is commonly used in shaving products.

Animal fat in the past was obtained directly from a slaughterhouse. Modern soapmakers use fat that has been processed into fatty acids. This eliminates many impurities, and it produces as a byproduct water instead of glycerin. Many vegetable fats, including olive oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil, are also used in soap making.

Additives are used to enhance the color, texture, and scent of soap. Fragrances and perfumes are added to the soap mixture to cover the odor of dirt and to leave behind a fresh-smelling scent. Abrasives to enhance the texture of soap include talc, silica, and marble pumice (volcanic ash). Soap made without dye is a dull grey or brown color, but modern manufacturers color soap to make it more enticing to the consumer.

Found SoapHere is a collection of soaps I found around the house. This small collection shows the variance of ways soap can be presented, packaged and branded. I will take note from each individual package, analysing the use of colour, materials, quantity etc.

Analysing Palmolives current soap packaging I found out that:

- Packagaging material was plastic.

- Total use of 3 different packages for each soap.

- Uses one image and one colour to represent each scent.

- Their logo can be located 20 times in total of the entire package.

- Underneath the logo of each package is a strap line e.g ‘moisture care’.

All these observations will contribute to my overall critical analysis of the Palmolive packaging and also help me identify areas for improvement.

Product Analysis

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Brand ResearchNow I have my product and have explored what the product is, I will now look into the brand itself. I aim to understand what they do, how they do it and generally build a better understanding of who Palmolive are.

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Displayed opposite are Palmolives existing logos throughout its history. No major changes have taken place in the look and feel of the logo as each logo variation adheres to a similar colour scheme and structure. Their current logo design they use today is displayed on the bottom left, opposite.

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Palmolive’s main target audience is women, primarily middle-aged and also families. Over the years they have broadened their audience to men by producing male oriented products.

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Classic soaps from Palmolive – loved and trusted for decades! Each bar contains natural oils to care for your skin. Palmolive Naturals soap have two main products: Olive and Almond.

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Re-BrandMy first step in rebranding the Palmolive brand is examining their visual identity. I will analyze their current logo and find ways to improve on what they already have, keeping in tune with their rich history and tradition.

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The Starbucks rebrand was my main influence and gave my plenty of inspiration as how to refresh an existing logo without going to far from what people already know and recognize. The approach Starbucks took was simplicity is key. For me personally I think Starbucks latest rebrand works and is iconic as ever.

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My approach to the Palmolive visual identity was to implement minor changes, taking reference from both the existing Palmolive logo and Starbucks rebrand. Some of the changes I made were: smaller kerning, taller x-height, removal of serif additions and elongated assenders. These subtle changes have developed into a refreshed and more modern Palmolive identity.

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My specific area of re-branding was to the “Palmolive Naturals” range. So illustrated opposite is the updated Palmolive logo design plus the ‘Naturals’ addition which I will use as part of the new soap packaging.

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Packaging DesignPackaging design has developed a lot over the years. What is interesting about this phenomenon is that the introduction of new packaging formats and designs is driven by manufactures creating new products; by packaging technologists and producers devising new solutions to their clients needs; and by designers seeking to answer their clients briefs. Any review of packaging design also reveals the influence of artistic, cultural and lifestyle factors.

After updating Palmolive’s visual identity, I will now aim to apply the same approach to update their packaging, making it more appealing, simplistic and practical.

Palmolive have a rich heritage and story about their product, which relates to their brand image. They have a mythology were the goddess Athena swayed Zeus by presenting him with the olive, which could be used for food and as an essence with many uses. Legend has it that Athena planted the first olive tree on the slopes of a barren, stony mountain - today’s Acropolis. The olive tree with its distinctive gnarled trunk, its dense branching system and its small, silvery-green leaves is one of the oldest known cultured trees in the world. Originally cultivated 6000 years ago, it spread quickly throughout the Mediterranean area and is today a symbol of the Mediterranean landscape, climate and way of life. I will try and encapsulate Palmolive’s rich history into the design and packaging of their product.

Tradition

To understand the product better, I decided to put it to use. I tested with it while exploring and documenting what I could smell, feel and experience. As I began using the product instantly I could smell the strong scent of olive from the soap. This was quite overwhelming at first but after awhile became a pleasent scent. The bar of soap itself is an unusual rectangular shape with a “inward curve” at its bottom. This made handling the product quite awkward and difficult. The soap itself is very sturdy and tough, but once I applied water to it it began to soften up and again release the pleasant scent of olive. After I had finished using the soap, the residue of the scent still remained on my hands, which was nice.

Experimentation

This packaging idea doesn’t require glue but instead the corners clip together and can be easily bound and undone.

Prototyping

This prototype idea is a simple parcel like package design. The idea is basic, simple but effective. Able to hold 3 bars of soap, this package design is sustainable and versatile as designs can be easily applied to the net.

Prototyping

This packaging idea is a simple one, which leaves rooms for the creative side of the design. The package works like a sleeve where you can easily put the soaps in securely. I like this idea as is its simple doesn’t require much in terms of material which keeps costs and waste low but also has potential for a nice design to be worked around it.

Prototyping

As I developed my last packaging idea, I was lead onto exploring ways to fasten and close, binding, shapes ect to get the best results and outcome in response to the soaps.

Prototyping Development

After many trial and errors and tweaking with measurements I finally created a working prototype which holds the soaps comfortably and exhibits the design well.

Elements of the new package design was taken from Palmolive’s current one but simpliflying the content and its visual appeal. For each scent I dedicated a associated illustrated image that relates to the scent and is recognised by the user.

Prototyping Development

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