After seeing a great article by designer Michael Colton of Desgrippes & LAGA it perked our interest about the prefabrication of authenticity and how designers truly know, almost mechanically, how to make packaging look “vintage” or “authentic”. One strategy is not having a package personality but just reflecting the consumers or user, creating trust and an un-sales like feel, as used with the Jones Soda bottle. Another quality of authentic packaging is a sign of craftsmanship and high quality, which is ingrained with the observance of a cap seal, wax hot stamps, or bellybands. Another term used by designers is Primitivism, a term for describing a look of “un-sophistication” to create a home-made look or feel of sincerity. And lastly there is innocence and transparency, where “raw” and “all natural” is portrayed by simple and warm design that seems almost childish.
What’s crazy is that all these usually work, and truly create a sense of authenticity regardless if it was thought and created by a massive conglomerate. But it is obvious that a large part of the population is now drawn to simple and trustworthy branding, technically not a bad trend to take place as it will only continue into mass production of sustainable and earth friendly packaging(we hope).
Maybe the most intriguing thought is the re-thinking of labels and packaging, with ingredients displayed on the front panel to truly create a sense of transparency and trust. Or the idea that the same product will be made with many different executions and slightly different labels to create a sense that what you buy is truly unique and not massed produced.
Either way, it’s incredible the effect that packaging can have on people…and we hope the trend leads to companies producing a better and healthier product.
B. Monk
http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2010/9/1/when-you-say-authentic-what-do-you-really-mean.html
